Happy Ending
by Azahkhiel
Summary: HIATUS He opened his eyes, not knowing he had unconsciously closed them, and stared up at the bright orange sky and sighed. "I guess, not everyone gets their own happy ending huh?" he quietly whispered to himself as he began to cross the road
1. Chapter 1

Summary: He opened his eyes, not knowing he had unconsciously closed them, and stared up at the bright orange sky and sighed. "I guess, not everyone gets their own happy ending huh?"

Author's Notes:

This story takes place 6 months after the manga ended so Momiji is portrayed here a little bit more mature than he was during the earliers parts of the manga and anime. it you see any grammatical errors, please tell me so that I can correct it since I don't have a beta.

Well, that's it. Enjoy ^^

* * *

Chapter 1

The sun shone a bright orange as the city bustled with life. People were busy looking around shops, taking a stroll or probably scurrying off towards their own home. Among them, Momiji walked on his usual way towards the Sohma estate. He was alone today. Haru usually walks home with him after school but ever since Rin finally recovered her health and started going back to school, the time they spent together became less and less.

When haru came up to him to talk about it, Momiji understood. They both know Rin still hasn't fully recovered yet and would suddenly feel sick. And he knows how crazy Haru is about Rin and now that the curse is gone, nothing would stop him from bringing them closer. Although Rin thinks Haru's being too paranoid he let a smile crawl up to his lips as he remembered how Rin would tell off Haru about waiting for her every day in front of the gate of her school and threatening to throw the next big thing she could grab at him because of all the attention they were getting from the other female students, and how Haru would simply reply every now and then with a "Hn" or a "Huh" and suddenly change the subject asking if he could eat over for dinner or how long her hair has grown in the last six months.

The last thought made Momiji slow down a little. Six months. It's been six months since the curse had been broken. Six months since Yuki, Kyo and Tohru graduated and went on with their lives. Momiji sighed. Sometimes he hated to admit it, but it he was starting to get lonely. Sure, he still keeps in contact with the three of them, but the chance to do so have become smaller. Yuki was busy studying in university and can only come visit when there was a holiday. Kyo and Tohru had both found jobs and a small apartment that they share together, although they still visit Shishou at the dojo every now and then, and it was during those times that Momiji really liked to go to the dojo as well.

Momiji suddenly stopped walking as he felt his phone vibrate. Looking at his phone, he saw that Kisa had sent him a message, inviting him to watch the new Mogeta movie she bought this weekend. A small smile crept to his lips as he read the message.

_Momiji-kun, I was able to borrow a CD of Mogeta the movie from my friend. Do you want to watch it with me and Hiro this weekend?_

He happily replied back to her saying he free was that day and could watch it with her and Hiro. Putting the phone back into his pocket, he continued walking down the street. Speaking of Hiro, he remembered Hinata's birthday will be coming up in a few months. A sad smile slowly replaced the one before and Momiji quickly began walking again. 'It must be nice, to have a younger sister' that single thought made Momiji walk even faster. It was really times like this that he misses the walk home with Tohru and the others to Shigure's house. It was during those times that he would forget. Forget that when he would come home it would be to an empty house. That in spite of having the curse broken, he was still alone.

Sometimes he can't help but feel jealous of the other junishi. Just like when Ayame announced that he and Mine were engaged or when he couldn't hang out with at Hatori's place for long because he was going on a date. He can't even stay long at Shigure's house because he was either going to visit Akito or is actually with Akito at the time he would visit. And even if he did visit the other junishi, they would all be busy with their own lives. He started to slow down a bit, though he was still looking down at the pavement in front of him. It's not that he was complaining that he was lonely. Heck, he was used to being lonely. It's just that, after the curse was broken he somehow hoped that something would happen. And even if it might be childish, he felt envious when everyone got to find their own happiness and he didn't. He felt left out. Besides, even if he continued to believe that he will find his happiness, he knew he would never have it. It's not like his mother would suddenly remember him and accept him as her son. 'No' Momiji thought 'that would never happen.'

Momiji stopped walking just in time for the pedestrian sign to turn red. Panting a little from his "walk". He opened his eyes, not knowing he had unconsciously closed them, and stared up at the bright orange sky and sighed. "I guess, not everyone gets their own happy ending huh?" he quietly whispered to himself as he began to cross the road seeing that the light had turned green.

He had nearly reached the other side of the road when he suddenly heard a loud scream. Turning to the source of the noise, his eyes widen as he realized that the woman screaming for help was actually his mother.

"Maiko-san!"

Momiji called out as he ran to her side. Turning to him, he could see how distressed his mother is. "M-Momiji-kun!" the surprised look she gave him seemed to replace, if only for a moment, the distressed look she had before she saw him. "What happened?" he quickly asked. She seemed to have been in shock as she couldn't stop her voice from slightly trembling "A man suddenly bumped me and snatched my bag!" He asked which direction the man went and after she had pointed the way, he quickly ran in the same direction after his mother had told him what the man was wearing. 'A red cap' Momiji scanned the crowd around him as he continued to run.

As his eyes wandered about, he noticed a man wearing a red cap not too far from him. He was running towards the pedestrian, probably trying cross the street before the light would turn red. The man seemed to have noticeMomiji chasing after him as he tried to run even faster that this, Momiji ran even faster, pushing himself on towards the man and manage to catch up to the him as they both crossed the road before the light turned red. The passersby in front of them were too many and the man couldn't stop in time and bumped into one of them. Momiji took this chance to tackle the man with the force from all the running he did, but the man was much taller than him and didn't fall down so he tried to reach for the bag that the man was gripping but failed since the man kept facing his back to him.

As the two struggled on he could hear his mother's voice, probably on the other side of the road. He tried once again to reach for his mother's bag and succeeded in getting a hold of it when the man suddenly elbowed him hitting him in the face. The force of being hit wasn't strong ehough to push Momiji down, but it was strong enough to make Momiji take a few steps backwards.

Toward the moving traffic.

In that single moment, everything seemed to have slowed down. The last thing Momiji remembered was the panicked look the man gave him and the loud screams of her mother before he felt a strong force hit him.

"MOMIJI!"

And everything became black.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well, there you go, chapter 1. Let me know what you guys think. Also, I'm not sure if Momiji's mother's name was mentioned in the manga (I know it wasn't mentioned in the anime) so I just made up a name for her. If any of you know tell me okay? I'll give you a cookie ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes:

Ah, finally I'm able to finish chapter 2! It took me some time to finish writing this, I had a hard time writing the ending! and I had to read things over and over again to make sure there aren't any mistakes.

I also want to thank Pheonixofdarkness62 for pointing out the length of my sentences. I reread chapter 1 again and realized that some of sentences were a bit longer than usual and I tried to make sure that I didn't write too long sentences in this chapter.

To Danielle Luna Soulhart, yeah, the title is a contradicting to the story huh? But that's what I love so much about it! and now you get to find out what happens next ^^

Well now, enough about what I'm saying. On with the story!

* * *

Chapter 2

Hatori walked through the pristine white corridor as he headed towards the east wing of the hospital. The seriousness in his face never leaving as he passes by patients being assisted by nurses and fellow doctors. he couldn't stop yesterday's events from playing over and over in his head.

Flashback

_He was in his clinic, working as usual when his phone started ringing. Grabbing his phone,he flipped it open to see who was calling. Momiji. Hatori had to wonder why Momiji would call him. Usually whenever Momiji wanted to tell him something he would directly go to Hatori himself, or send him a message. Momiji usually only called him when he was away, unless, it was an quickly washed over him and without a second thought accepted the call. But he wasn't prepared for what he heard next. _

"_Hello"_

"_Hatori-san! Oh my god! Thank goodness you answered." Came the somewhat relieved yet panicked voice._

_Hatori raised an eybrow in surprise, he did not expect to hear Momiji's mother to call him using his phone "Maiko-san? Why are you using Momiji's phone?" he asked, dread suddenly creeping over him "Did something happen?" he asked her as he could hear various voices in the background. The dread he felt before intensified as he then heard the sound of an ambulance. "Maiko-san, where is Momiji?" he asked, the urgency in his voice resonated in his seemingly too quiet clinic. The noise in the background made it hard for him to hear what she was saying but after listening intently to the woman, he couldn't belive what he was hearing. "Hatori-san I-" she began saying in between sobs "I-I'm so sorry... Momiji, he...he was hit by a truck" Hatori had to still himself for a moment before he began to ask her what exactly happened. After a nearly incomprehendible explanation from all the stuttering and sobbing in her panicked state, the only thing he completely understood was that, she stayed together with Momiji in the ambulance since she was the only one there who knew him and used his phone to call Hatori. After a few more explaining, she told him which hospital they were being taken to and after that, Hatori hung up, quickly grabbed his coat and left for the hospital._

_When he arrived there, he headed straight for the reception area asking where Momiji was taken to. After being told which direction to go to he saw Maiko sitting at one of the chairs near the emergency room, white as a sheet and clothes covered with blood. He quietly approached where she was unti he was directly in front of her. An awkward silence broke between them before Maiko decided to speak "They told me to wait here until they finish treating Momiji-kun." Her voice came in a quiet, almost whisper-like way. "I see." Hatori replied and looked at the closed door behind him, the light on the sign Emergency Room was on and it seemed like it would take a while before it would be turned off. Seeing that he too has no other choice but to wait for the doctor treating Momij to finish before he could speak with him, he sat down beside Maiko and listened to her as she told him about the snatcher and how Momiji chased after him._

"_I couldn't do anything but watch as it happened" Maiko kept her gaze directed at the bag in her lap. After the accident, the snatcher was caught and the bag was returned to her intact. It took a moment before Hatori spoke "It wasn't your fault" Hatori began, breaking the silence between them "...and thank you" his voice was low but it was enough to make Maiko look at him. "...What for?" she asked, obviously surprised at the sudden gratitude. Feeling the curious and surprised gaze on him, he slowly turned to her, their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments "For staying with him" a small grateful smile crept through his face "Thank you" After hearing what he said, Maiko seemed to have fallen into her own thoughts for a moment and once again faced him "Hatori-san, I-" she started once again. But as soon as she began speaking the door to the emergency room suddenly opened and the doctor came out. Her chance to finish what she wanted to say soon dissapeared as Hatori quickly stood up and spoke to the doctor. And later on, she too stood up and listened as the doctor informed Hatori of Momiji's condition. _

End Flashback

Finally reaching the east wing of the hospital, he headed for the room where Momiji was moved into. As he opened the door, the sound of the various machines around Momiji's bed could be heard. He headed towards the still form lying in the bed and Momiji's sleeping face came to view. He has yet to wake up even after the doctor said he wasn't in a critical condition.

'_He's lucky he didn't die'_

He remembered the doctor telling him as they talked outside the emergency room yesterday. He grabbed one of the chairs on the the wall nearest to the bed, placed it beside the bed and sat down. He continued to watch Momiji as he took slow shallow breaths. His hair was slightly messy due to the bandage wrapped around his head. A sling currently held his bandaged left arm in place. He had felt so relieved after he was told that despite having a broken arm, Momiji's hand was completely unscathed. He knew how devastated Momiji would be if his hands were injured. His hands are an essenial part needed for him to be able to play the violin. His gaze then landed on the the bandage covering Momiji's chest which could slightly be seen due to the large hospital gown he was wearing. The force of the impact was strong enough to break a few of his ribs. What surprised Hatori though, was that none of the broken ribs peirced his lungs. 'Lucky indeed' Hatori thought as he spent a few more moments thinking in silence.

He had called Momiji's father after having moved Momiji into one of the private rooms and told him what happened. Even after Maiko had left hours ago, Mizuki wasn't able to visit Momiji right away. He arrived later on, looking so distressed and worried, and went straight to Hatori asking about Momiji. After calming him down and informing him of Momiji's condition, he silently left Mizuki with his son in the room. But before he was able to close the door, he heard a stifled cry and looked back only to see Mizuki, back faced to him, sitting beside the bed and holding his son's hand. The last words he heard from the man nearly broke his heart as he continued to close the door.

"_I'm sorry"_

Light knocking from the door brought Hatori out of his thoughts as his gaze moved towards the door. He slowly stood up and headed towards it. Opening the door, he was surprised to see Maiko standing in front of the door, hand held up, most likely about to knock on the door once again. "Oh, good morning Hatori-san." She greeted meekly. "um, I know it's a little too early to visit, but I wanted to see how Momiji was doing." She said, sparing a glance at the clock that hung in the room. "It's alright, come in." Hatori said as he moved out of the way allowing her to enter the room. He watched her as she slowly made her way to the bed and stared at Momiji. After a few moments she looked back at him "How is he?"she asked. "His condition has improved compared to yesterday," he started "but he still hasn't woken up." He replied as he went back to the chair he was occupying earlier "...I see" she said as she also sat in one of the chairs provided in the room.

They sat in silence as the minutes go by with nothing but the sound of Momiji's breathing being the only thing that could be heard. A few more minutes went by before Maiko decided to break the silence "...Hatori-san" she began. When he turned his head to face her, she began to speak one more "Do you mind if I ask you something? It might be a bit personal, but um...I was wondering" she paused seemingly hesitant and thinking if she should continue. "What is it?" Hatori asked, urging her to continue. He was curious to know what it is she wanted to ask. "It might be a bit rude to ask but, I was wondering what Momiji's parents are like." she asked curiosity evident in her voice. Hatori remaind silent for a moment before asking her back "Why do you want to know?" he looked directly at her, observing her. "Well," she began "I've never really met them before. I meet Momiji-kun every now and then, but whenever we do he was always alone." She explained "And since I often see you around him, I thought I'd ask you about it. Ah! But, if you think it's a bit too personal of a question it's okay if you don't answer it." She finished, looking slightly embarrassed about asking him. Hatori blinked. He did not expect that kind of question from her. For a moment Hatori was at a loss for words. What could he say? Or rather, the question is, what will he tell her? After all, she _is_ Momiji's mother. After spending a few more seconds thinking, he sighed and looked back at her. "Well, I suppose I can tell you about them." He said as he leaned back in the chair.

" His parents situation is a little bit complicated, so I can't say much." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts "His father works in a company and is often sent outside the country for business trips. He visits Momiji whenever he can, but right now, he can't come and visit Momiji. He is away with business" he lied, although he knew half of what he said was true. "...Then, what about his mother?" Maiko asked. Hatori knew she would ask him this, and honestly, he didn't know what to say. It was easier to make up an excuse for Momiji's father, but for Maiko to ask...about herself? He didn't know what to say. His gaze went back to Maiko, who was looking at him waiting for an answer, and decided he could just tell her the truth. Just exclude the specifics. "His mother..." he looked directly at her '_is right here, beside him'_was what Hatori wanted to say, but he knew he couldn't say something like that. And he never would, not if Momiji didn't want him to."...she is, no longer living with them." He finished. "..I'm sorry" Maiko looked apologetic " I knew it was rude of me to ask such a question." "It's alright. You would have noticed it later on anyway." Hatori said. Once again they fell into silence. Feeling uncomfortable after what they had talked about, Maiko decided to start another conversation. This time with a much lighter topic. And Hatori, who had felt the awkward atmosphere, was grateful for the distraction.

* * *

It was dark, blindingly dark. He felt like he was floating. And for some strange reason his body felt so heavy whenever he tried to move. Everytime he would try to breathe normally his chest would hurt so bad. His mind seems to be a puddle of disoriented thoughts as he tried to make sense of what exactly happened to him. The last thing he could remember was walking home from school, minding his own business. A flash of gold suddenly appeared in his mind. _Mother_. That's right, he saw his mother. She seemed distressed for some reason, as if she was about to cry. It was something about her bag... He remembered now. His mother's bag was snatched away... and he went to chase after the snatcher. He was pushed away and something big hit him. Something big and strong that was enough to make his body hurt so much when it hit him. After that, everything came in a flurry of voices, people screaming for things he could no longer understand as his conscoiusness left him.

He was starting to feel tired again and was about to let go of his consciousness when he heard voices. They seemed muffled at first so he couldn't understand what they were saying. But when he could finally hear them clearly he realized that he knew these voices. They were so familiar to him but for some reason, he couldn't remember who the voices belong to. It made him want to open his eyes and see who were talking. Which was exactly what he tried to do, only to find that his eyes felt so heavy that trying to open his eyes felt like lifting lead. He tried once more to open his eyes. But for some reason he couldn't see anything but darkness despite the fact that he knew he somehow managed to open his eyes. He was starting to panic a little when he heard one of the voices mention a name. And when he heard it, it all came back to him. The voice that was familiar to him the most belonged to that person. And so, not knowing what else to do, he called out.

"..Ha..tori"

Both Hatori and Maiko stopped talking as their heads both turned to the figure lying on the bed and saw that Momiji was gaining consiousness. "Momiji?" Hatori moved quickly sitting beside Momiji on the bed. A few moments passed before Momiji's eyes fluttered open and both Hatori and Maiko let a sigh of relief escape them. "...Hatori?" Momiji spoke again, his voice hoarse. Maiko was now standing beside Hatori. "How are you feeling? You've been unconscious for some time now." He asked "My hand..." momiji started "...it feels...numb." Hatori lookedat Momiji's left hand and placed his own hand over it."It's okay, it's not injured. It's probably a little numb because of the anesthesia." He reasurred Momiji. "Hatori," Momiji moved his head towards Hatori "are the lights turned off?" he asked. "What?" came Hatori's surprised reply "Of course not." Maiko answered, puzzled at the sudden question. "Then why is it so dark?" Momiji asked back, his voice slightly trembling. Hearing this, both Maiko and Hatori looked at each other, seemingly at a loss as to what to do next. Not letting go of Momiji's hand, Hatori turned back to Momiji, staing directly into his eyes. "Momiji," he began "tell me, what do you see in front of you?" A look of confusion mixed with fear came over Momiji's face "Hatori, there's nothing in front of me. I can't see anything."

* * *

Author's Notes:

And there you have it! Momiji fans, please don't kill me! (hides) I know you guys might think 'WTH WHY IS MOMIJI BLIND!" I know it's sudden, but there is an explanation for all this. You just gotta wait for the next chapter to come out ^^ and...um, let me know what you guys think okay?


	3. Chapter 3

I AM SOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING EARLIER! I ave been very busy with exams and rushing deadlines for my subjects (and i still am) and stuff that needed to be done and submitted to my student org. plus with my university turning 400 years (if you're in the Philippines thes now you know where I'm studying ^^) there was a whole lot of activities and events that happened that took my time which is why I was not able to write chapter 3 until last...Wednesday I think? (breathes) I'm kinda losing track of time recently...

ANYWAY

Author's notes:

Hmmm, nothing much to say, except that I had a really hard time writing the beginning of this chapter. It just wouldn't cooperate for some reason which is why it took a longer time to finish... oh, and if there are stuff here that you think doesn't seem accurate, well, that's where fiction comes in! XD Anyway, you guys probably wanna read now so I'll leave you guys to it. Enjoy!

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Chapter 3

Momiji was anxious, no, anxious was an understatement. He couldn't find the words to explain how he was feeling. After getting hit by a truck in the middle of the street and waking up in the hospital only to find himself completely blind, Momiji was in utter panic. He felt so scared not being able to see anything and it scared him even more not knowing why it was happening. Hatori had calmed him down before going off to call the doctor.

After Hatori had left the room, it was only then that he felt the presence of another person. When he asked who else was in the room, he didn't really expect to hear his mother's voice coming from the right side of the bed. It wasn't that he didn't expect her to not come and visit him. It would actually hurt if she didn't visit at all. He was happy, truthfully, to know that she was there beside him but it somehow felt a little awkward. After all, to her, he was just another kid from the Sohma clan. And they only met a few times and it was usually by accident. So he was really caught by surprise knowing she was there.

Hatori returned later on together with the doctor and after checking Momiji's condition, he began to examine Momiji's eyes.

"Well," Doctor Kazuya began "it your eyes are perfectly fine Momiji." He stated calmly as he received confused and puzzled looks from the other three. "What do you mean by that? His eyes are perfectly fine?" Maiko asked the doctor. "Yes, there were no signs of injury or damage inflicted on his eyes." The doctor answered. "Then, how come I can't see?" Momiji asked.

"It's a little complicated to explain, but I'll try to make it as simple as possible." The doctor started "The head trauma you experience from the accident must have affected the optical nerves in your brain. As a result, they can't function like they normally do causing you to lose your sight." He explained. A short moment of silence fell on the three other occupants of the room as they let the information sink in. It was Hatori who was the first to break the silence

"So, what you're saying is that even though his eyes are completely unharmed, he can't see because his optic nerves are not functioning properly because of the trauma, like its being choked." He said. "Yes, I suppose choked is a good way of saying it." The doctor nodded. Maiko, who had been listening for most of the time looked towards Momiji who seemed to be in deep thought. "Um, doctor," she began, "it's not that I'm questioning your findings, but how can you be so sure that that is exactly what happened to Momiji-kun?" she asked. "Well, I've handled similar cases before with former patients who were also victims of car accidents that had problems with their sight. Although the damage inflicted to their sight varies from blurred vision to blindness." The doctor explained. "So I assure you madam, my findings about your son is accurate" he finished

Maiko looked surprised at what the doctor said "Oh, no. I'm afraid you got it wrong doctor." Maiko quickly reacted "I'm not his mother. I'm just a relative…" she explained. "Oh, I apologize. It's just that you two look alike so I just assumed…." the doctor apologized. Hatori sent a quick glance towards Momiji who had an unreadable expression on his face.

A few seconds of silence passed by before Momiji spoke "Is it permanent? Will I be blind forever?" he asked. The doctor smiled reassuringly "No, the blindness you are experiencing right now is caused by damaged to the optical nerves. Given time, it will heal. Although the length of time it will take to heal depends on how affected the sight is." The doctor explained "For patients that experience almost complete blindness like you Momiji, I highly recommend that you undergo therapy."

"Will it help him recover his sight better?" Hatori asked "Yes, most of the patients I had handled that underwent therapy had recovered their sight completely." The doctor told them. A sudden beeping sounded in the room, and Momiji blinked in surprise. "What was that?" he asked. "Oh, excuse me. It's my beeper." the doctor said taking out a small beeper from his coat pocket and looked at the screenand then put it back in his coat pocket. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have to go. I'll come back later to check on Momiji, but for now, I have to go see another patient." After saying this, the doctor swiftly left the room.

Hatori leaned in the chair he was sitting in "Are you okay Momiji?" he asked "…yeah, I'm fine" Momiji answered seemingly in deep thought. Of course he's glad to know that he wasn't going to be permanently blind but, he wasn't exactly happy either. He won't be able to see anything for probably a long time, and truthfully, he just didn't like it.

Seeing nothing but darkness is a scary thing. He won't be able to tell time, to move around and do things he wanted to. He knows he won't be able to live alone in his house anymore since no one was actually there. Another thing that won't leave his mind was what he was going to do about school. He decided to keep that in mind and ask Hatori later.

The sound of a phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts "Oh, sorry it's my phone." Maiko said excusing herself as she went outside to answer her phone. She came back in moments later. "I know it's sudden, but I also have to go now." She said her tone a slightly apologetic "I forgot I had an appointment with a friend and I'm running a little late. I didn't realize that it's nearly noon time." She finished. "Thank you for visiting me, Maiko-san." Momiji said. Maiko smiled "I'll come visit again tomorrow" she said and a cheerful smile crept onto Momiji's face "Okay!" he happily replied. After grabbing her bag, she bid her farewell and left the room.

"You seem to be in high spirits" Hatori noted. "Yeah, I am." Momiji smiled. Despite being blind and not knowing how long he will be like that, he was still happy. After all, his mother came to the hospital just to visit him. She even stayed throughout his examination. And even though they didn't really get to talk that much, knowing that she was there beside him was enough to make him happy.

"Well then, you should probably try to get some sleep. You must still be tired from all that's happened." Hatori said as he sat up. "Where are you going?" Momiji slightly tilted his head towards Hatori's direction. The sound he heard from the movement of the chair was enough to let him know that Hatori was going somewhere. "I'm just going outside. I need to call your father and tell him about what we just talked about with the doctor." Hatori told him "Don't worry, I'll come back afterwards. So for the time being, go to sleep." He reassured Momiji. "Oh, okay." Momiji replied. Now that Hatori mentioned it, he was starting to feel sleepy. So he tried to move into a position he was most comfortable with as slow and careful as he could so as not to cause too much pain, and when he was finally comfortable enough, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He didn't know how long he had been sleeping, nor did he know what time it was since he couldn't see. But the first thing that he did notice was that he wasn't alone in the room. He could hear the faint sound of pages being turned and a shuffling sound from the other side of the room.

"…Hatori?" he called out.

"Ah! Momiji, you're awake!" came a cheerful voice. The page turning also stopped.

"Tohru?" Momiji wasn't able to hide his surprise as he heard Tohru's cheerful greeting and smiled. "How long have you been here? Where's Hatori?" He cheerfully asked despite still feeling a little groggy from just waking up.

"We've been here since Hatori left earlier."

A voice from his left spoke up and Momiji blinked in surprise "Kyo? You're here too?" Momiji was now fully awake. "No, I'm not here. Of course I'm here you stupid rabbit!" Kyo said sarcastically. "Aww, and here I thought I could have Tohru all to myself." As he said this he could feel almost literally feel the glare Kyo was sending him and he couldn't help but chuckle although he hissed as he felt the pain in his ribs. "Are you okay?" Tohru asked worriedly "…I'm fine." He replied trying not to move too much.

"That's what he gets for saying things like that." Kyo grumpily said crossing his arms over his chest. Momiji pouted "How mean! Tohru, Kyo's being mean again!" he said cutely knowing it would annoy Kyo more. Tohru could only smile and watch as the two continued to bicker until she had to remin Kyo that they were in the hospital and that they can't make a lot of noise.

Kyo sat leaned back in his chair again after adjusting Momiji's bed into a slightly upright position, since Momiji still can't sit up because of his injuries, and picked up the magazine that fell earlier when they were bickering. "Anyway, if you're looking for Hatori, he left a little later after we arrived, saying he had to get some stuff from the main house. He'll be back later." He finished and leaned back on the chair when he noticed that Momiji was looking in his direction but not exactly looking at him.

"Oi," he started, his voice getting serious "is what Hatori said true? I mean, about your eyes?" he asked.

Tohru, who had sat on the opposite side of the bed, also turned to Momiji. A short moment of silence passed before Momiji answered a little less cheerful than he had been earlier. "Ah, that… yeah, it's true. I can't see anything ever since I woke up." He hears a faint sound of movement from his right "But you won't be blind forever, right?" Tohru's worried voice came. Momiji smiled reassuringly "No, I won't. The doctor said I'll be able to see again after some time, though I think I have to go through therapy." He told them.

"Oh, I see. That's good then." Tohru said relief evident in her voice.

"By the way, what did really happen?" Kyo asked "I mean, we know that you got into an accident, but we never really got a chance to ask Hatori exactly what happened since he was about to leave when we arrived, so he was only able to tell us about your sight." He explained.

Momiji blinked "Oh…" So Hatori didn't tell them the details of the accident. Momiji figured as much since his mother was involved. Hatori probably thought it'd be better if he was the one to talk about it. Momiji's train of thought was cut as he sensed the curious, expectant gazes the two were sending him.

Tohru seemed to think that his silence meant that he didn't want to talk about it when she spoke again. "Um, but if you don't feel comfortable talking about it then it's okay if you don't want to-"

"It was mother."

"Huh?" "Eh?" both Kyo and Tohru said at the same time.

"I was on the way home when I saw mother." Momiji started. A thoughtful look in his eyes as he tried to recall what happened. "She looked really distraught so I approached her and she told me someone stole her bag." He paused a little "I asked her if she remembered what the man looked like and which way he went. Then I chased after him and when I finally caught him, I tried to reach for the bag but he pushed me away then I got hit… and you know the rest." He told them. Both Kyo and Tohru remained silent for some time, letting everything sink in. It was Tohru who spoke first, breaking the silence.

"What about your mother? Is she alright?" she asked.

"She didn't get hurt, although she was probably shaken after what happened, but she's fine now. She was actually here when I woke up and she even stayed with me and Hatori until after the doctor had examined my eyes." Momiji cheerfully replied.

"I see." Tohru sighed. She was glad to know that even though Momiji's mother had forgotten him, she still cares for him. "You must be really happy then, to be able to spend some time with her." She happily said.

"Yup!" Momiji said with a big grin on his face.

Tohru smile. Seeing how Momiji could smile and laugh so freely right now, she thought how terrible it must have been to go through what he did and wake up only to see nothing but darkness. Momiji must have been scared. To be unable to see anything, especially the ones you love, is a sad and scary thing to experience. The thought stilled Tohru for a moment. And she looked up, not realizing she had lowered her head slightly, and looked at Momiji who was currently enjoying another round of bickering with Kyo. And for some reason, tears built up around her eyes, blurring her vision a little, and slowly fell down her cheeks.

Kyo immediately noticed Tohru crying and stopped bickering with Momiji, turning his focus completely on her.

"Oy! Why are you suddenly crying?" he asked, his voice sounding worried and for some reason slightly annoyed.

"Huh? Tohru's crying?" Momiji asked as he turned towards Tohru. "Why?"

Tohru brought both of her hands up and tried to wipe away the tears "I-I'm sorry… It's j-just…. I thought that…. to be unable to see, is such a sad thing…" she tried to explain through the tears.

Momiji couldn't understand what Tohru meant. Sad? Well, of course he was sad to be unable to see. He was also scared. And he still is. So why was Tohru crying?

The sudden sound of the chair moving had Momiji assuming that Kyo had moved from his left to his right where Tohru was sitting "Hey, what are you talking about?" he asked, his voice giving off a more gentle tone than earlier.

"Tohru?" Momiji called out, he didn't know what was wrong that would make Tohru cry. Just a moment ago they were having a fun time and now Tohru was crying and neither he nor Kyo knows why.

"…it must be hard for Momiji-kun, to not be able to… see… them… anymore…" she spoke in between sobs. Momiji blinked, digesting the words Tohru had said. To not be able to see… them. His eyes slightly widened as he understood what she meant.

Although the situation with his mother was already known by the junishi, it was only Hatori who knew that he was secretly watching his mother and sister from afar; and Tohru was the only one he had shared his secret with. To be unable to be with them for most of his life, and he was unable to even watch them from afar. It was painful. He knew. It wasn't the first time the thought has passed through his mind. He had realized this after the realization that he was blind had sunk in, and, honestly, if it wasn't for his mother being there in the room as well, he would have cried his heart out if it meant doing so would ease his pain. But he couldn't do it. Not with his mother there. So kept it hidden inside like he always does, bearing all the pain alone. He was used to it after all.

But Tohru, she was always able to see through these things. She was always the first to find out. And she would always cry, because she knew that he couldn't. She always does, not only for him, but for Kyo and Yuki and the rest of the junishi. She was always there to share their pain. And he has always been grateful to her for doing so. To know that someone loved him enough to cry and share his pain was enough to ease his pain, enough for him to keep smiling and move on.

Using his uninjured right hand, he tried to reach out to Tohru, estimating the distance between them. He was unsure of how far Tohru was actually from him or if he was reaching too high or too low, but when his fingers finally felt her hair, he inwardly sighed and slowly began to reach toward Tohru's face. She was still wiping tears from her face; she finally stopped crying, when she felt Momiji's hand on her cheek.

"Thank you"

The gentle, soothing voice made Tohru stop and look at Momiji, who had a small smile on his face.

"Momiji-kun…" she said as Momiji attempted to wipe a few tears away.

"Thank you Tohru, but I'm okay now." He smiled gently "Besides, she said she would come and visit again. We'll be able to spend more time together!" he happily said. "So, you shouldn't be sad, okay?" "Momiji-kun…" Tohru wiped away the last remaining tears from her eyes and smiled "Okay!"

Kyo silently watched the two from where he was standing. He didn't really understand what they were talking about so he decided he'd just watch and wait.

The somber atmosphere was suddenly interrupted as Momiji's stomach growled followed by an awkward silence and the sound of Kyo's attempts to stop laughing. "I should get you something to eat. Is there something you want?" Tohru asked. "No, anything's fine." Momiji said, looking slightly embarrassed. He remembered he hadn't had anything to eat since he woke up. "How about you Kyo, do you want anything?" she asked Kyo who had finally regained his composure "No, I'm good." He answered "Okay. I'll be back shortly." Tohru said as she stood up and headed for the door.

After a few minutes of silence Kyo turned towards Momiji "So," Kyo started "what was that about?" he asked. "Hm? About what Tohru said?" Momiji asked in return before smiling coyly "It's a secret." he said before snickering knowing that not telling would irk Kyo. "Fine, whatever." Kyo said, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in the chair. Momiji just smiled back. It's been a while since he's been able to spend time with Tohru and Kyo like this and he was already having a fun time. Leaning his head back into the pillow, he wondered if he'll be able to spend time like this with his mother the next time she visits and he couldn't help but smiled in excitement.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Kyo asked, still slightly irritated.

"It's a secret." Momiji happily replied not holding back his laughter as he heard Kyo make an irritated noise.

* * *

Authors notes:

And that's chapter 3! Although to be honest it was supposed to be a little bit longer. But I figured it would seem too much to put it all in one chapter so I decided to end it here. So, tell me what you guys think and review! I really wanna know what you guys think about the story so far, like, seriously, review you guys! ^^

Oh, and if you're wondering about Momiji's blindness, I actually had to research that, although I already knew that vision can be affected in a car accident, I just didn't know up to what extent and how a person can recover from it.

Ah! Another thing I wanted to say was that I'm not sure if I can update regularly or as fast as I did in chapters 1 and 2, since I'm struggling to find time to write because I have a lot of homework (i actually have a report tomorrow) waiting to be done and I have this musical production in my org. in about two weeks so things are gonna be a bit hectic and I might not be able to update for some time.

So... that's it. hope you enjoyed reading this. ^^


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes:

First of all I would like to say I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! FORGIVE ME! I know I said I'd be busy for at least two weeks but right after I uploaded chapter 3 I got sick. I had to catch up with my academics and I was busy with my student org's musical production. AND, my inner sloth woke up... and wouldn't leave me alone for several days. It also brought along with it a huge wave of writer's block. I couldn't remember what I wanted to write every time I would open my file... though I couldn't believe this chapter would be so long! (13 pages) I didn;;t expect this chapter to be so long. but Now that I'm just glad to have finished writing this chapter.

Again, my apologies for the late update.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 4

Momiji sighed for the nth time as he lazily picked on a small piece of the cast that was sticking out.

"Momiji, stop playing with your cast." Hatori reprimanded him.

"But I'm bored!" Momiji exclaimed "I don't have anything else to do aside from sitting here and resting." He pouted.

"Why don't you take a nap?" Hatori suggested as he turned a page of the book he was reading

"I'm not sleepy." Momiji replied monotonously.

"You can listen to your iPod." Hatori tried once again, this time looking up from the book in his hands.

"But I've been doing that since this morning." Momiji huffed. He had been doing nothing but sitting and listening to his iPod ever since he finished his breakfast. He would talk occasionally with Hatori and listen from what he could hear coming from outside the room but aside from that he realized he had nothing else to do and he was so bored. He couldn't even watch the shows on the TV provided in the room since he would have a hard time understanding what was going on given his lack of sight.

Momiji leaned his head back on the pillow and sighed, his boredom clearly seen in his face. The dull pain he was still feeling in his side and in his left arm was not helping either. He really wanted to get better and get out of the hospital. At least if he was back at the main house he could still find things to do even if he can't see. He could even play his violin if he wants to. He admits he isn't a professional at playing the violin, not yet. But he was skilled enough to play even without needing to see what he has to play.

Suddenly remembering his violin made Momiji want to go back home and play. But knowing his condition right now, he can't move around too much without feeling pain from his side and he can't even move his arm. The though made Momiji even frown even more and Hatori seemed to have noticed the glum mood the boy was experiencing so he tried to strike up another conversation.

"How about a snack?" he began "You had your breakfast earlier than usual and it's still a little too early for lunch. Do you want to eat something?" he asked Momiji. Momiji shook his head a little. "No thanks, I'm not yet hungry" he replied. The word food almost made Momiji wanted to groan as he remembered what happened yesterday.

If there was another thing he realized that really irritated him aside from his inability to satisfy his boredom was the fact that he was having a hard time eating. It was really difficult to eat food when he couldn't see where it is. He remembered how he nearly knocked over the bowl of soup that came with the meal Tohru brought for him yesterday. If it wasn't for Kyo's quick reaction of holding the bowl in place he would have spilled the soup all over himself. Even now he could still clearly remember how embarrassed he felt as Tohru, being the easily worried person that she is, fussed over him saying that she could feed him so that he wouldn't have a hard time eating, which he tried to politely decline without looking too embarrassed, while Kyo's side comments about him could be heard in the background.

"Momiji, is something wrong? You look beet red." Hatori's half concerned half curious tone snapped him out of his thoughts as he realized that he was blushing as he remembered the embarrassing memory.

"Huh? Ah, i-it's nothing! I'm fine" He quickly replied as he tried to think of other things to keep his mind from wandering back to what happened yesterday.

"Are you sure? You look a little rattled." Once again, Hatori's half curious half concerned tone was heard, although now he sounded more curious than concerned.

"Yep, I'm okay!" Momiji answered a little too cheery than usual. He had forgotten that Hatori was still with him in the room and he mentally berated himself for forgetting. Then again, he didn't think the man was paying that much attention to him at the moment. From what he was hearing he could guess that Hatori was reading a book so he didn't think he would notice him as he recalled what happened yesterday.

"Well, if you say so." Hatori said and Momiji could tell with the tone that Hatori used that their little conversation would end there and he let his shoulders slump a little in relief.

A soft knock on the door caused both Hatori and Momiji to look up from what they were doing; Hatori from reading the paper and Momiji from his thoughts. The door opened and Tohru came in.

"Good morning Momiji!" she cheerfully greeted "ah! Hatori-san's here too." She added as she saw Hatori sitting with a newspaper in hand.

"Good morning" Hatori replied and he glanced at Momiji whose face lit up as he heard Tohru's voice and he greeted her cheerfully "Tohru! Good morning! I thought you wouldn't be here until later in the afternoon?" he curiously asked.

Tohru walked into the room and placed the small paper bag she was carrying unto the table. "The owner of the store I'm working in is sick. He insisted on opening the shop but then he got worse and we had to close the shop really early." She explained as she sat beside Momiji's bed.

"Oh, is he alright?" Momiji asked. "Yeah, he's fine now. Although he was scolded by his wife for a long time for opening the store even though he was already sick." She told him. "Oh! I also brought you some jelly I made this morning! Do you want some?" she asked and turned to Hatori "You too Hatori-san, do you want some?"

"Ah! I want some Tohru!" Momiji happily said but he suddenly remembered what happened yesterday with the soup "uh, I'll eat it later." He added. Tohru blinked "Are you sure you don't want it now?" "Yup, I can have it as my dessert later after lunch." He told her, and for some reason he could feel Hatori's gaze on him, probably noticing his sudden change of mind. "Oh, okay. What about you Hatori-san?" Tohru asked Hatori. "I'll eat it later as well. Thank you." Hatori said with a small smile on his face.

"Oh, okay then. I'll just put this in the fridge." Tohru said as she went towards the small refrigerator which was also provided in the room.

Hatori's phone suddenly rang and he excused himself as he answered the phone. He came back in a few minutes later "I know it's sudden but something came up at the main house and I have to go. I'll be back later okay Momiji?" he said as he went over to the chair he was occupying to pick up his coat.

"Okay." Momiji answered "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He reassured Hatori. "That's right; besides, I can stay with Momiji for the rest of the day since I don't have any work left to do." Tohru said with a smile. Hatori nodded "Okay then, thank you Tohru. I'll be back later Momiji." Hatori said as he gathered the rest of his things and left the room after getting a nod from Momiji.

"I guess it's just the two of us then." Momiji said as he plopped down back at the pillow behind him "By the way, is Kyo also coming today?" he asked "No, I don't think so. He promised Shishou he'd help out at the dojo today. Maybe he can come tomorrow." Tohru told him. "Oh, I see." "So, how are you doing?" Tohru asked.

"I feel so bored." He said pouting a little. "I hate staying at the hospital even before since I can't do much and now I can't even watch TV!" he complained "I'm sure you'll be able to find something to do while passing the time. Besides, I can always visit you." Tohru reassured him.

"Yeah, I know." Momiji said laughing a little and Tohru smiled.

"I have to apologize to Kisa though…"he mumbled. "Eh? Why?" Tohru blinked in question. "You see, before I got hit by the truck, I got a text from Kisa asking if I could watch the Mogeta DVD she borrowed from her friend with Hiro this weekend. But now that I can't see…" Momiji's expression turned sullen as he told Tohru about not being able to watch.

"It's okay. They'll understand." Tohru began "You could always watch it with them when your sight comes back." She reassured him. Momiji seemed to think about it before a smile crept on his face and he nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

They spent the next hour talking and laughing about random things when a knock brought their attention on the door. When it opened, he heard a small surprised sound coming from Tohru, causing him to look in her direction. "Tohru?" he called out.

"Oh, I thought it was Hatori-san who was with you."

Momiji looked towards the direction of the voice, quickly recognizing it, and smiled

"Maiko-san!"

Maiko smiled gently as she went over to where Momiji and Tohru were "Good morning Momiji-kun, how are you feeling today?" as she came closer it was then that she noticed Tohru and stared at her. "Excuse me, but have we met before? You seem familiar somehow." She asked. "My name is Honda Tohru. I'm a friend of Momiji's" Tohru bowed as she introduced herself.

"We used to go to the same high school until she graduated last year." Momiji added "She's the friend I was visiting in Mizuki-san's building when you saw me." He told her. "Oh, that's right. I remember now." Maiko smiled "It's nice to meet you again, Honda-san." She said. "Yes, it's nice to meet you too Maiko-san." Tohru smiled.

"Oh, that's right Momiji-kun, there's also someone else here to see you." Maiko said. "Someone else?" Momiji asked, he didn't hear another person come in after his mother, but then again he wasn't really sure since he still wasn't used to relying on his hearing to know if people are around or not. "Who is it?" he asked but instead of hearing an answer he felt a hand hold his. It was much too small to be his mother's but it felt familiar somehow. There was something about the feel of the fingers that reminded him of his own back when he was just starting to learn how to play the violin and then his eyes widened slightly as realization struck him. This hand belonged to someone he knows, someone who was always with his mother when he watched them from afar, and who also watched him as well. Momiji smiled as he held the hand in his own.

"Momo, is that you?"

"Yes." The small voice he heard was enough to make him smile even more. "When she heard what happened to you, she said she wanted to come along the next time I visit." Maiko said "She seems to really like you, although you've only met a few times before." She added. "I see, thank you for coming to visit me!" Momiji said cheerfully and Momo smiled in return and she began to talk to Momiji about many things.

Tohru couldn't help but smile as well as she watched the scene in front of her. She was so happy for Momiji because he gets to spend more time with his family, even though they are unaware, and he can have fun with them. Not wanting to disturb the three as they continued to talk merrily about various things, she just sat there on the other side of the bed and listened. She would occasionally talk with them whenever the conversation turned to her and she would happily join in as well.

But in spite of seeing the three of them talking and laughing, there was something she noticed that seemed to bother her. It was like there was small, nagging feeling inside her as she looked at Momiji's mother. There was something about her that she can't seem to pinpoint. She seemed to be enjoying her time with Momiji and Momo, having fun and talking animatedly with them but there was something in the way she looked at Momiji. It's like she was wary of something, observing Momiji and Momo. Tohru wasn't exactly sure what to think of this, after all, she barely knows anything about her except for what Momiji told her. So she did what she thinks is right and stopped thinking about it and paid more attention to Momo, who was now sitting closer to the bed, talking to Momiji.

"Can you still play the violin?" Momo asked her doe eyed gaze directed at Momiji and Maiko blinked in surprise. "You can also play the violin?" she asked. Momiji nodded "Yes, I do. I've been playing since I was in elementary school." He answered. "But you can't see now…" Momo said her tone had a tinge of sadness as she looked up to Momiji.

"Don't worry; I can still play the violin." He reassured Momo "Although I don't think I can learn any new music right now since I can't see. But I can still play the violin even if I don't have to look at my fingers as long as I know the song I'm playing." He finished.

"That's good. It'd be such a waste if you won't be able to play anymore." Maiko said, sounding a little relieved. "Momiji…" Momo had an unreadable expression as she lightly tugged on Momiji's sleeve causing him to tilted his head towards Momo's direction. "Yes? What is it Momo?" he asked.

For a moment, Momo looked embarrassed about what she wanted to say and paused for a few seconds before speaking again. "Um, if it's okay with you, when Momo becomes better at playing the violin… can we… play together?" she quietly asked.

Momiji seemed at a loss for words for a moment before he smiled gently "Of course, I'd be happy to Momo." Momo smiled as she heard that Momiji would want to play with him and she laughed in delight. Both Tohru and Maiko watched happily as Momo and Momiji continued to talk about playing the violin and doing other stuff together when he gets better and released from the hospital.

Maiko glanced at the clock hanging in the wall "Oh, it seems it's already time for lunch." She said. "Will you be going now then?" Momiji asked trying to hide the slight pang of sadness as he thought that they were going to leave soon.

"Oh, um… I brought some lunch with me when I came earlier." Tohru spoke "If you'd like, you can have lunch here with us." She said. "That's very kind of you, but I wouldn't want to impose…" Maiko started but then she noticed that Momo was also looking at her "But, there are four of us…" she said "Oh, don't worry Maiko-san, I cooked a lot of food today in case there were other visitors as well." Tohru said and it was then that Maiko noticed Momo was still looking at her and she sighed "Well, if it's alright with you, then it's alright with me. Besides," she patted Momo's head "Momo seems like she still wants to stay."

Momo smiled and happily went back beside Momiji's bed while Tohru started to prepare the food she brought along with her. A small gasp brought all eyes on Tohru who was looking at the unpacked food she placed on the table. "What's wrong Honda-san?" Maiko approached her and looked at the table to see if anything was wrong. "Oh no, it's just that… I forgot to bring the tea I prepared with me." Tohru said "Don't worry I saw a cafeteria downstairs, I'll just go and buy some." She continued to say as she headed to the door. "Wait Honda-san, I can come with you if you want." Maiko offered "Oh, no it's alright. I can manage. I'll be back really soon so if you can just wait here."

Just as Tohru was about to turn back towards the door, she felt something tug on her skirt and she looked down to see Momo. "Is something wrong Momo-chan?" she asked. The small girl blinked at her "Can I go with you?" she asked

"Eh? Um, I wouldn't mind but, is it okay?" Tohru turned to ask Maiko. "I thought you wanted to stay with Momiji, Momo?" she asked her daughter. "I want a chocolate drink." Came the reply from Momo "But you could get lost," Maiko told her "why don't you just stay here?" she finished. "But I want to go with her…" Momo said, her voice whining a little as she stared at her mother and a short staring contest ensued between them before Maiko sighed "Okay, you can go. But don't wander off okay? Stay by Honda-san's side." After receiving a nod from Momo, she left with Tohru holding her by the hand.

"Honestly, sometimes I think I'm being a bit too lenient on Momo. I always let her do what she wants." Maiko huffed as she sat back down on the chair. Momiji chuckled at her reaction "Hey, it's not funny. What if she gets too spoiled?" Maiko said teasingly. "If she gets spoiled, I'm sure you would do something about it Maiko-san." He told her as he leaned back on the pillow. "Of course I will." Maiko said with a small smile on her lips.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to give this back to you yesterday after all that happened after you woke up." Maiko said as she opened her bag and reached in. "What is it?" Momiji asked tilting his head in question. "There, I found it." Maiko said as she took her hand out of her bag. "Here you go." She reached out for Momiji's right hand and she placed the object in it.

Momiji blinked as he tried to make out what the object was that his mother returned to him. It was a small chain with an oval piece of metal attached to it. Maiko saw a look of surprise as Momiji recognized the object in his hand "This is… how did you get this?" Momiji asked as he continued to fumble with the small object in his hand, a golden necklace with a small oval locket. "One of the nurses gave it to me while you were still being treated in the emergency room. I was the only one there at the moment so I kept it with me. I had meant to give it sooner but when you woke up and said that you couldn't see, I completely forgot about it." She explained.

"…I see, I thought I had lost it when Hatori said he hadn't seen it." Momiji quietly said. He paused for a moment, seemingly in deep thought "Did you… look?" he asked, almost hesitantly. Maiko looked at him understanding what he meant "No, I didn't look inside the locket. Don't worry." She reassured him

"Oh…" Momiji felt relief wash over him when she said she didn't look at what was inside the locket. He wouldn't know what to do if she ever did see what was inside the locket. "Besides, it'd be rude to do so without permission wouldn't it?" she added, laughing a little to lighten up the mood. "…Yeah" Momiji nodded. Of course his mother wouldn't look inside; after all, she probably thought it was just an accessory or something that he kept with him. He did like to wear accessories after all.

"It must be really important to you, the locket, I mean." Maiko said as she watched Momiji, who still had the locket in his hand. Momiji blinked, he wasn't expecting her to ask him about the locket. Nevertheless, he decided to answer her question "Yes. It's very important to me. It's like… a keepsake." He said with a small, almost sad smile on his lips and Maiko was silent for a while before she spoke again.

"Is it… a picture of your family?"

She asked sounding quite curious even though she seemed reluctant to ask him and Momiji was taken by surprise at the sudden question. He wondered how she could have guessed right about the picture inside the locket. Did she really take a peek inside after all? If so, then she should have somewhat an idea of their situation, right? But then again, she could have just thought that it was normal for someone like Momiji to keep a picture of his family. But that kind of reasoning didn't seem to be plausible.

Maiko seemed to have noticed the inner turmoil Momiji was having as she started to speak once more "I'm sorry to have asked that." She apologized "Does talking about your family make you uncomfortable?" she asked again, this time trying to be more careful with her words. She didn't want to make the boy more uncomfortable than he already is.

"Oh, no, it's okay." Momiji tried to smile "Yes, it is a picture of my family…" he said as his grip on the locket tightened a little more. "…Actually, it's the only one I have of… the three of us…" he told her, a sad smile on his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad by remembering your family. I was just a little curious about your parents ever since I asked Hatori-san what they were like." Maiko explained before covering her mouth with her hand as she realized what she said.

Momiji's head turned to her as a look of surprise overcame his face "You asked Hatori about my parents?" his voice slightly trembling from the shock of what his mother said and once again Maiko had looked apologetic. "I'm really sorry. At that time, when you still haven't woken up I was with Hatori-san and I was wondering where your parents are since they weren't here with you after the accident. And so I asked him about it and he answered." Maiko explained to him and Momiji sat in silence for a while. Why didn't Hatori tell him this when he had the chance to do so. Out of all the people, Hatori knew he was the only one who truly knows his situation with his parents and he didn't even tell him that his own mother asked him about his parents?

Momiji sighed, he needed to calm down. His mind was full of jumbled thoughts and mixed feelings. It was probably because too many surprising things happened today, with Momo coming, the family picture in his locket and now the revelation that his mother did know something about his family situation.

The tension in the room must be getting into his mother as he could hear her shuffling about from where she was sitting. Oh well, he thought, he might as well ask about what Hatori told her and he spoke "What did hatori tell you about my parents?" the question seemed to have caught her attention as the shuffling sounds stopped.

"Well," she began "he told me that your father wokrs in a company and is very busy. He also said that he couldn't visit you now because he was sent on a business trip." She said and Momiji had to blink in surprise as to how close to the truth it was. "And that your mother…" she began again and this time Momiji wondered what Hatori told her "…he said that she is no longer living with you and your father." She finished.

Momiji's shoulders sagged slightly in relief after hearing his mother tell him what Hatori told her. Well, technically what Hatori said about his mother was right. She wasn't living with him anymore, although she is still living with his father. But she didn't need to know that.

"I'm really sorry if I seemed to pry into your private life Momiji-kun." Maiko once again apologized but was stopped as Momiji shook his head "No, it's alright. Besides, you wanted to know right?" Momiji suddenly had the urge to literally slap himself in the face as he said the last part. He didn't know why he said that, but now that he did, it's most likely that his mother's curiosity would be irked up even more than it already was.

Maiko seemed to be surprised by the sudden question but answered nonetheless "Well, yes but, if you don't want to talk about it then its fine." She said. But despite what she said Momiji could hear from her tone of voice that she was interested in knowing. Holding back the urge to sigh once again, he decided he could tell her, albeit a more; no scratch that, a **very** filtered version of his family background. After all, he did bring up the topic and it would seem rude to just not talk about it after he had more or less given the impression that he would talk about it.

"No, it's okay. I can tell you." He said and paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. After thinking of a way to tell her without revealing anything, or if it would reveal anything it would be at the most subtle, unnoticeable way, he started to speak.

"Well, what Hatori told is somewhat a summary of everything. With my father busy with work and my mother no longer living with us. She left when I was around 5." Momiji began and Maiko, who had gone silent as she listened, seemed to watch him carefully. "Although I do get to spend time with my father, I haven't exactly been able to spend time with my mother." "Why did she leave?" came the quiet question from Maiko and Momiji paused a little before he answered

"…She wasn't happy anymore."

Maiko blinked at the answer given to her. So his mother left them because she wasn't happy anymore? She didn't get it, it seemed so trivial. "So she left because she was unhappy?" she got a small nod from Momiji "I don't get it. Why would she decide to leave just because of that? Didn't she think of you and your father?" she asked Momiji.

"She did think of us, she tried to make it work. We all did. To be a family." Momiji had a small sad smile as he recalled the memories from his childhood. "But there were several circumstances that she wasn't able to handle anymore. She couldn't take it anymore. So she decided to leave…" Maiko could see the sullen expression in Momiji's face even though he was still smiling.

"When mother left, father said that he'd love me twice as much so that he could fill in for mother. We spend as much time as we can even though he's also busy with his work." He said

"What about your mother?" Maiko asked

"We don't see each other anymore."

Momiji turned his head towards her and for a short moment, their eyes met. "I haven't really spent time with mother after she left us. Although I do see her around town sometimes, but I never went over to talk to her." Momiji's voice was a little lower as he said this. "Why not?" Maiko asked "Why don't you go talk to her when you see her? She's your mother." she said, she couldn't understand why the boy didn't approach his own mother when he could see clearly the longing from the boy's expression.

Momiji paused at the question his mother asked. Why? Why didn't he approach his mother when he had so many chances to do so? The answer was clear. It was because she doesn't remember him anymore. That to her, he was just another child from the Sohma clan that she met. And that was that. But he can't tell her. He won't. So instead, he told her something else "It was because whenever I would see her, she looks so happy. She never looked that happy back when she was still living with us." He said, he didn't tell her the truth, but he didn't lie either "And I don't want to remind her of the hardships and pain that she went through by seeing me." He paused as he let the words sink in. "That's why I don't show myself to her."

Maiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't expect that the bubbly, carefree boy she knew had experienced such a sad childhood. And that he handled everything on his own. One question remained in her mind as she let her thoughts pass by.

"Weren't you lonely? Watching your mother live happily away from you?"

Her voice was low and gentle and Momiji had to look away for a moment as he felt the familiar pang of loneliness and longing.

"I do feel lonely," he admitted "but not so much. Seeing her happy is enough." He said

Of course he felt lonely. To see his mother and father and Momo laughing and having fun together, to be unable to join them, was definitely lonely. But no matter how much he wanted to go over to them, he would always just stand by and watch from afar. Because he didn't want to see his mother's anguished cries anymore or his father's distraught and weary face. He didn't want them to be hurt anymore. So no matter how much he wanted to be by their side, he decided that he would just watch from afar. And somehow, he had convinced himself that he was fine with it.

"…Why?"

Maiko asked and Momiji had to smile as he felt the concern in her voice.

"Because I love her."

He told her and Maiko went silent. And he took this chance to compose himself and collect his thoughts. Truth be told, he didn't know why he had decided to tell her about it. He just knew he had to. That he should at least let her know how he felt; how he still feels despite the fact that she doesn't remember anymore. Because in all honesty, he still hopes that somewhere deep inside, his mother still remembers him. That she hadn't forgotten. So he told her everything, without actually revealing anything.

Momiji was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand touch his cheek. He looked up in his mother's direction in surprise and his eyes widened as he heard what she said to him.

"You're a very good boy."

Her voice was gentle, soothing. And for moment Momiji had wanted to lean his head towards the touch but decided that the feel of his mother's hand against his cheek was enough to comfort him. "Thank you." He said as he smiled genuinely.

They stayed that way for a few moments before the silence that engulfed the room was broken as the door opened and both Tohru and Momo came in, bringing the drinks they bought.

"We're back!" they happily said and both Maiko and Momiji welcomed them back. After that, Maiko stood up to help Tohru prepare the lunch she had bought while Momo trotted over to Momiji to tell him of her trip to the cafeteria with Tohru.

After eating lunch and chatting happily about what and what not. Both Maiko and Momo had bid farewell, promising to visit again and Momiji happily waved goodbye with his free hand.

"I hope they visit again soon." Tohru said "Yeah!" Momiji agreed "It's not boring when they're around." He laughed as he said this. And Tohru was glad to see Momiji having a good time.

"By the way Momiji, what are you holding?" she asked curiously as she noticed Momiji's hand curled over something.

"Oh, this?" he opened his hand revealing the gold locket "Wow! It's so pretty!" Tohru exclaimed and she continued to stare at the locket. "Do you want to take a look?" Momiji asked her "Is it okay?" Tohru asked him back "Yeah, it's fine." he told her as he gave the locket to Tohru. He also told her about what he and his mother talked about and how she comforted him and Tohru listened quietly.

They heard a knock on the door before it opened and Tohru greeted Haru who had brought Momiji his favorite ice cream and sat beside his bed. They spent the rest of the afternoon eating ice cream as they talked and laughed about many things.

* * *

Maiko sat in the back of the car that was driving her and Momo towards her husband's building. The conversation she had with Momiji won't leave her mind. There was a nagging feeling that she just can't shake off whenever she remembered the boy. And the conversation they had didn't help in easing the feeling. There was just something about Momiji that made her feel… different. Like she knew the boy. She slightly shook her head. No, that was impossible. She had met Momiji only a few years ago when they went to the main house to visit Mizuki's parents and even then she hardly ever saw Momiji.

But…

Maiko looked out the window as she recalled the small locket she returned to Momiji and she couldn't help but bite her lower lip as she remembered what happened yesterday.

_Flashback_

_Maiko had just returned home from her appointment and was walking towards the kitchen when she saw Momo come inside the house. Her dress was dirty to say the least and she had a little bit of dirt on her face as well. she stopped short when she saw her mother in the hallway._

"_Momo! How many times must I tell you to be careful when you're playing outside in the garden." She scolded her daughter and patted her dress as she tried to remove the dirt from it._

"_I'm sorry mommy." Momo apologized and Maiko sighed. No matter how many times she tells her daughter to be careful about getting her clothes dirty she would always do the same thing. And she would always scold her about it. Sometimes she thinks it's becoming a routine._

"_Just remember to be careful about your clothes Momo. It's hard to get the dirt off." She reminded her and Momo nodded._

_Maiko stood up and retrieved her bag from the side table opened it and pulled out a handkerchief. As she did so she felt it got stuck on something inside and she pulled it a little more. When she pulled the handkerchief free from the bag something fell as well. When she looked down to see what it is she saw the necklace and the small locket attached to it. It was then that she remembered that it belonged to Momiji and that she had forgotten to give it back._

_She knelt down to pick it up but as soon as lifted the locket, she was surprised to see that the hinge keeping the lid closed was quite loose and it swung open revealing a picture. At first she felt like she was prying and decided to close the locket but then she saw a familiar figure in the picture and she stared at the picture._

_It was a family photo, a young boy and his parents. Momiji. She recognized. As she gazed up on the faces of his parents she gasped in shock when she saw Mizuki's face and her own._

"…_W-what?" she stuttered as her mind swirl with all the questions that popped in her head. What does this mean? It was definitely her and Mizuki in the picture, but Momiji… she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Is Momiji a part of their family… her son?_

"_Isn't that Momiji?"_

_The quiet voice of her daughter brought Maiko back from her thoughts and she quickly closed the locket and stood up. "Come now Momo, let's get you cleaned up." She said weakly as she tried to change the topic. Momo stared at her for a moment before she followed obediently. Maiko didn't know what to think anymore as she silently led Momo to the bathroom to get her cleaned up._

_Judging from the picture, Momiji was still quite young, probably 4 or 5 in the picture. Now that she thought about it, it was about the same time that she was ill and had lost some of her memory as a result. She didn't pay much attention to it before but now…_

_As she finished helping Momo into a fresh set of clothes she decided to visit Momiji the next day and see if she can find out anything. She was not going to sit around and do nothing about it. She was going to find out._

_End Flashback_

"We're here madam." The driver's voice broke Maiko out of her thoughts and she thanked the man as she and Momo got out of the car and went inside the building. She felt a little guilty for lying to Momiji, but she didn't want to cause the boy any more distress. He was already having a hard time as it is.

"Good afternoon Maiko-san." His husband's secretary greeted her and she greeted back. "Is my husband inside?" she asked the woman. "Yes, he is. In fact, he had just returned from one of his meetings." The secretary answered. "I see." She turned to Momo "Momo, can you stay out here for a while? I have to talk to your daddy about some adult stuff. Can you wait for mommy here?" she asked her daughter gently. "Okay." Momo nodded "that's a good girl." Maiko smiled as Momo trotted over to the sofa provided for waiting guests.

She turned towards the door and slowly opened it revealing her husband's office. The man sitting in the back of his desk looked up. "Oh, Maiko. I didn't know you were coming today. Where's Momo?" Mizuki asked her. "I told her to wait outside. There's something I want to discuss with you." She walked towards his desk and stopped in front of it.

"…What is it?" Mizuki asked. Judging from her tone of voice he knew that his wife was not in the mood to beat around the bush. "I visited Momiji at the hospital today." She started as she stared at her husband. "Really? How was he doing?" Mizuki asked, trying to hide the curiosity and worry in his voice. He hadn't been able to visit Momiji aside from the other night and he was worried because Hatori had called him informing him of Momiji's blindness. He intended to visit soon but he just couldn't find the time especially since his wife was also visiting Momiji.

"He's doing better now. He was really happy to see Momo too." She told him and she noticed the look of surprise that passed through his husband's face even though it only lasted for a second. "…You took Momo to see Momiji as well?" he asked her. It was obvious in his voice that Mizuki was somehow worried even though he was doing quite well in hiding it. "Yes, she was actually very happy. She enjoyed talking with Momiji." She told him "In fact, I enjoyed talking with him too." She added and she could see the gears in his husband's mind working, thinking.

"Is this what you wanted to discuss?" he asked her after a few second of silence passed. "No." Maiko said, her voice turning serious. "I wanted to talk to you about this." She took out her phone and pushed a few buttons before placing it right in front of his husband.

Mizuki raised a brow in question of his wife's actions but nonetheless looked down at the phone and froze. Ha could see in the small screen a picture. it was a picture of a locket held by his wife's hand and inside the pocket was another picture of him, Maiko and Momiji.

"This…" he began "…where… how did you?" he couldn't form his thoughts into words as his mind registered that his wife has indeed seen their family picture and that she was now standing in front of him demanding answers.

"It was given to me by one of the nurses while Momiji was being treated." She explained to him as she took in her husband's shocked expression. "What is the meaning of this Mizuki? Why do we have a family picture with Momiji in it? Is he my son Mizuki? Tell me!" her voice grew louder with every question that came out of her mouth. She was so confused and Mizuki could see it in her eyes.

"Maiko…"

"I asked Momiji about his parents earlier, and he said that his father works in a company and he seldom spends time with him and that his mother wasn't living with them anymore." She said a little calmer now. Mizuki could see how bothered she was and he started to speak again. "Maiko-"

"Does this have something to do with my illness all those years ago? Does it have something to do with my memory loss? Tell me Mizuki…" she asked him, her voice growing quiet with each question she asked.

Mizuki stared at her for a long time. She looked so distraught. After hearing her outburst about the picture and Momiji, Mizuki knew that he has no other choice left but to tell her the truth. He took off his glasses and massaged his temple. He could feel a headache coming on.

"Mizuki…" his wife's voice forced him to look back at her and he let a sigh escape his lips as put his glasses back on.

"…You wouldn't believe me if I tell you."

He told her.

"Try me."

Came the challenging reply from his wife. He could tell from the determined look in his wife's eyes that she would not leave until she gets the answers that she wants. He folded his hands together and placed them on top of his desk as he gathered his thoughts.

"_I'm sorry Momiji, but it seems our secret has to be revealed."  
_

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**

**_Again, I don't know the name of Momiji's dad (I don't think it was ever mentioned) and I also don't know what he looks like. I only know he has dark hair based from what I saw in the anime. and I just realized while I was proof reading this chapter that All four of them have the letter M at the start of their names (Momiji, Momo, Maiko, Mizuki) I never thought it's be the same. I just thought that the names suited his parents so I chose them._**

**_Oh, also to Kendraxo who told me that Momiji's mother's name is Satsuki, sadly, it's not her name. I went back to that part of the manga and read it again. Satsuki is the name of Hiro's mother, not Momiji's. I just wanted to clear that up. ^^_**

**_And there you have it! Review and tell me what you guys think! ^^_**


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes:

Here we go! chapter 5! I was encouraged by lady Lilac's enthusiastic review and I really wanted to write at that moment when I read her review, but sadly I had to go to school and had been busy throughout the week which is why I'm only able to post this now.

But I don't know if I'll be able to write anything for the next two weeks since finals are coming and I still have term papers to do so you guys will have to wait. Don't worry, after that I'm sure I'll be able to update faster since after finals will be SUMMER VACATION! XD

*ahem* anyway, on with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 5

"I'm sorry, Momiji"

Momiji turned his head towards Haru's voice. He was a little surprised at the sudden apology and a short silence came over the room. It was just the two of them left in the room now. Kyo had arrived earlier to pick up Tohru, who had promised to bring another dessert next time she could come and visit, and left afterwards.

"What for?" he asked curiously. He didn't know of anything that would make Haru apologize to him. Haru seemed to be thinking of whether he would tell Momiji or not as he kept silent for a few seconds before speaking. "If I had been there with you when the accident happened, you wouldn't be…" he trailed off and Momiji gave him an understanding look. "It's not your fault Haru." He said.

Haru slightly shook his head before he remembered that Momiji couldn't see him "No. If I had been with you that day I could have helped you with that snatcher. You might not have been in that accident." He paused "You might have not lost your sight." Haru said, his head slightly lowered and Momiji could pick up the guilt in Haru's voice and he sighed. So this was what Haru was apologizing for. Honestly though, Momiji didn't see the need for it. It wasn't Haru's fault he wasn't there when Momiji got into the accident. But he knew why Haru felt guilty for what happened.

The two of them had walked home together most of the time ever since they were young; with Momiji leading the way home and preventing Haru from getting lost, and Haru keeping him safe whenever they would cross the street or catching him when he would trip and fall. Sometimes Kyo and Kagur would walk home together with them, but most of the time it was just the two of them. They had been like that for such a long time, watching out for each other, which was why Haru was probably feeling guilty about what happened to Momiji. He felt that it was his role to look out for Momiji.

"It's not your fault, Haru." Momiji said again "It's no one's fault." He told the other boy and it was true. In a situation like this, no one is at fault. No one knew that things would turn out this way. Not him, not Haru. So Haru shouldn't blame himself. "No one knew that something like that would happen. Don't blame yourself." He added hoping that by saying so it would reassure Haru.

Haru stayed silent a while longer, thinking, "I know that. But-"whatever he had wanted to say was left unsaid as Momiji cut him off. "No buts. I'm fine Haru…" he said before realizing what he said "…okay, except for a few injuries and a broken arm, but nonetheless I'm fine." He quickly added "But your sight…"Haru said and Momiji sighed "It'll come back. It's not like I'm permanently blind Haru, the doctor made sure of that." He told Haru as he remembered how Hatori would ask the doctor several times about his condition whenever he would come and check on him and the doctor ensured him countless times that his prognosis was correct until Hatori was satisfied. "Don't worry about me." He smiled as he told Haru.

Silence engulfed the room once more and Momiji was starting to wonder if Haru would still insist on apologizing when he heard a sigh "Alright. If you say you're okay, then you're okay." Haru said, his tone was back to its usual nonchalant way that told Momiji that everything was back to normal now and his smile grew even wider. "That's good to hear." He said cheerfully and Haru smiled.

As they began to talk about other things, the door opened and Hatori came in. "I see Haru's here." He said as he removed his coat and placed in on one of the chairs.

"Hatori! You're back!" Momiji exclaimed "Did Tohru leave already?" he asked and Momiji nodded "Kyo came earlier to pick her up." Haru said. As Hatori grabbed a soda from the small fridge and headed towards the chair to sit, Momiji told him about what he did for the whole day with Haru commenting here and there and Hatori listened quietly letting the two, mainly Momiji, continue on about what happened the whole day. 

* * *

Maiko stood, paralyzed in shock as she stared at her husband "…What?" her voice was trembling. She had wanted to say more but it was the only word she could manage to say at the moment. "Momiji is… our son…." She finally said and she suddenly felt the need to sit down. Mizuki watched his wife sit down on the chair in front of him with an unreadable expression in his face. He had told his wife everything. Starting from the zodiac curse of the Sohma family, which he had to extensively explain to his wife since she wouldn't believe him at first, and then he told her about Momiji and erasing her memories…

Mizuki had inwardly sighed. His wife was taking everything quite well when he had explained to her the curse and how the Sohma family works but, after he had told her about Momiji, how he was her son and her decision to forget, she had been shocked speechless. He knew that she would react like this when he decided to tell her but to actually see it now; knowing that what he said can never be taken back was actually frightening.

He had seen how his wife could be at her troubled state, he had seen it so many times before, and he was afraid, now that everything was revealed, she might remember everything return to her old broken state. It scared him. But he didn't show it as he put on a calm face, while watching his wife. He could see in her eyes the surprise and shock of the truth. But he could also see how the wheels in her mind are moving as she processed the information she was told.

After a few minutes had passed, although it felt like eternity for Mizuki, Maiko had looked up at him, looking slightly hesitant. "But I don't get it… earlier on Momo kept clinging on to Momiji and he didn't transform into a rabbit. How can you say that the curse is real?" she questioned him. "That is because the curse is now broken." He told her "If Momo or any other girl had done the same thing to Momiji half a year ago, he would have transformed into a rabbit." He explained further.

"You said earlier that I had decided to forget about Momiji right?" she asked and Mizuki nodded "That's right." He told her and Maiko seemed to look curious "…how did I… forget?" she asked him.

"Remember the curse I told you about?" he asked her and she nodded "There was one among the junishi who had the power to erase memories." He explained. "Who?" Maiko asked him "It was Hatori." He answered. Maiko's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know that Hatori was also a member of the junishi. Then again, her husband didn't actually tell her who they were except for Momiji, who was the rabbit. "What was his curse?" she asked curiously. "He was the dragon." Mizuki answered. That explained why the man seemed to be quite close with Momiji, they were both cursed.

Now that she thought about it, Hatori was the one who looked after her during the time she was recovering from her 'illness' and continued to do so afterwards. She supposed it was normal, after all, he was a doctor and he took care of any member of the family that was sick, but she probably received more attention since she is Momiji's mother and the fact that she might remember…

Speaking of Momiji, the boy knew everything right from the start; he knew that when she decided to forget everything he wouldn't be able to be with her anymore, that she would forget everything about him, that he even existed and… he was fine with it.

The thought suddenly made Maiko feel a pang in her chest as the image of the boy sitting in the hospital bed smiling flashed through her mind. "Maiko?" he heard her husband's worried voice call out to her and he looked at him. "That boy… he said that there were several circumstances that I wasn't able to handle anymore, which was why I decided to 'leave.'" she said and Mizuki stayed silent, listening as his wife continued. "How was I back then?" she asked and Mizuki sighed.

As much as possible, he didn't want to recall how his wife was before she had her memories erased. She had been so irate and would easily get upset with the even the smallest of things. She would sometimes even break things just to let her anger out. He remembered during those times how Momiji would always run to him when she was having one of her temper tantrums and he would comfort the boy before going to where his wife was to try and calm her down.

"Mizuki?"

His wife's voice broke him from his thoughts and he looked up, not realizing that he had lowered his head in thought, to see his wife looking at him with a worried look. "It's nothing." He said. Then he remembered the question earlier "Do you really want to know how you were back then? He asked.

A nod from his wife confirmed that she wanted to know and Mizuki had no choice but to tell her "After you found out about the curse and that Momiji would turn into a rabbit you were despaired by the fact that you couldn't even hold him without him transforming." He told her. Maiko listened in silence as she saw her husband's face become morose as he continued to tell her what she was like back then. "You became frustrated and angry to the point that seeing Momiji would make you go in a fit of rage." He continued and Maiko couldn't believe what she was hearing.

If she didn't already know about Momiji being her son, she might have thought that her husband was describing a different person. She couldn't believe that she had become like that, always upset and easily becoming angry, it seemed so unlike her. She would get mad, yes, but she knew she had quite a long tolerance over almost anything.

"_She couldn't take it anymore."_

Momiji's words rang in her mind and she remembered how sad Momiji looked back then as he told her about his 'mother'. And she couldn't help but feel bad about it.

"Mizuki," she called her husband who turned to her "how old was Momiji again when I forgot him?" she asked him. Mizuki blinked at the question, seemingly surprised at the sudden question "He was five." He answered "why?" he asked.

Maiko's gaze fell onto the phone that was left forgotten on her husband's desk. The picture from Momiji's locket still displayed on the screen. "He was five…" she said "He was only five when I forgot him." Her voice had become softer, lower. To experience something like that at such an age, it must have been terrible for Momiji. She faced her husband again

"You said you asked him if he was okay with me forgetting about him?" she looked at Mizuki who paused for a while before answering "…Yes, I told him that if you would forget him, there was a chance you would recover and be happy again." He answered and Maiko "…and he said he was okay with it?" her voice was now barely a whisper as she asked him.

Mizuki closed his eyes as he tried to push back the memories of the day he asked Momiji that question to the back of his mind, together with the emotions that it brought along. "Yes." He answered and a long moment of silence passed between them, each of them falling into their own myriad of thoughts.

Mizuki removed his glasses and placed them onto his desk as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He remembered how torn he was that day. How he tried so hard to look for another way to make things work. But it was just too much. Maiko was already too broken up about Momiji and he didn't want his son to suffer anymore from her anger and despair.

Truth be told, he never wanted to allow such a thing to happen knowing that the one who will hurt the most will be Momiji, but, at the same time he felt that if he didn't allow Maiko to forget, he would lose her. And he didn't want that. Because if he lost her, he just knows he wouldn't be able to take it anymore. That he, too, might break.

And for that brief moment he decided to go along with erasing Momiji from Maiko's memories. Because he was also tired. And for once, just this once, he had wanted to be selfish. So he did what he had to and told Momiji about erasing him from his mother's memories knowing that his son would agree with the idea, if only to help his mother to be happy again. After that was done, he had asked Hatori to erase Momiji from his wife's memories.

It was only some time after that Mizuki had quickly regretted his decision. He saw how his son had suffered living away from them. How he would sometimes see him watch them from afar as they had dinner outside or when they go to the park and he did nothing about it. He tried to spend as much time as he can with Momiji but he knew it was not enough.

Still, Momiji would understand when he would apologize. He understood when he scolded the boy when he accidentally met his mother as he was hanging around the building with his friend who worked there. He even understood him when he told him he had to quit taking violin lessons from the same teacher Momo was learning from. Aand Mizuki felt so guilty about all of it. Because he knew that Momiji knew what he wanted. He understood and calmly agreed with what he decides. And Mizuki felt so ashamed.

Because he knew that Momiji knew he was afraid of losing the happiness he had been able to build with Maiko and Momo if they were to meet with Momiji. And that he would do anything to prevent that world of happiness to break.

A loud beeping sound took the occupants of the room by surprise, shaking them off from their own thoughts. Both Maiko and Mizuki turned their attention to the telephone placed on the corner of the desk which was the source of the noise and Mizuki pushed the small red button that was flashing red.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you sir, but your next meeting will begin in five minutes."

The apologetic voice of his secretary came through the telephone. "I see. I'll be there in a moment." He answered back and after hearing a 'yes sir' from his secretary he released the red button and wore back his glasses.

"You shouldn't keep them waiting." Maiko said as she stood up and reached out to pick up her phone from the desk.

"Maiko-"

"Please don't tell Momiji about this." Maiko abruptly said while returning her phone inside her bag. "What?" Mizuki asked in response "Why?" Maiko looked at him, her expression unreadable "…I don't want to cause any more trouble for that boy. It was already because of me that he lost his sight, even if it isn't permanent. I'm sure finding out that I now know that I'm his mother would cause him unwanted stress." She explained.

"Alright." Mizuki agreed. Maiko turned and headed for the door, but she stopped as she was about to open it and turned back to him "We'll continue this conversation when you get home." She said and she opened the door and left.

After the door had clicked shut, Mizuki reclined back in his chair. Their conversation had definitely tired him out and he closed his eyes as he let a sigh escape his lips. He now had less than five minutes until his meeting starts but right now he just wasn't in the mood to listen to a boring meeting about how much the company earned or lost or whatever. He didn't care if he'd be late, heck, he was the president. His people could wait a few more minutes. He won't be able to concentrate anyway; his mind was swirling around Maiko and Momiji. What will he do from now on? He doesn't really know what will happen with the days to come but he knew one thing for sure. It was going to be a big mess.

Opening his eyes, his gaze falls onto the second to the last drawer on his right and he reaches out to open it revealing a picture frame with a picture of him and Momiji together smiling happily.

"Momiji, what should I do now?" 

* * *

The whole week passed by as Momiji continued to recuperate in the hospital. Almost all of the junishi had visited him during his stay. Kisa and Hiro visited him on his third day there and gave him a small Mogeta plushie as a get well gift. He apologized to Kisa saying that he won't be able to watch the movie with her and Hiro like he promised. Kisa had understood saying that it was okay and Hiro commented that they could always watch it again together with him when he gets his sight back.

Shigure and Ayame also visited and were causing quite a ruckus that Hatori had to apologize to the nurse that had to come every now and then to remind them that they were in a hospital and that they should keep the volume at bay. And even though he couldn't see, he could feel the dark aura emanating from Hatori as he scolded the other two for being so noisy; with Ayame talking animatedly and Shigure backing him up every now and then. Before they left though, Ayame had promised to make him some clothes and when Hatori had asked why Momiji would need new clothes, designed by Ayame himself, the man simply answered that just because Momiji can't see the fabulousness of the clothes he was wearing doesn't mean he shouldn't wear them and that he should show it off to the other people who dared to wear such plain clothes causing Momiji to laugh.

Yuki had managed to make time despite his busy schedule in university and had come along with Tohru and Kyo the next day and Momiji was glad that they all came together. He spent the day with them talking and eating and having fun like the way they used to in Shigure's house and he was a little sad that they all had to leave as the sun began to set but he was okay with it since Yuki promised to visit again when he can and Tohru and Kyo said they come again the next day.

He was actually surprised that there would be at least someone aside from Hatori and Tohru that would come and visit him. Aside from Kyo who usually came to the hospital to pick up Tohru or come and visit him with her and Haru who visited occasionally, Kagura also came bringing get well gifts from her and her mother and Rin visited him once together with Haru. Even Ristu came and Momiji was glad he was somewhat less panicky than before and didn't cause much of a scene now unlike before.

He was also glad that his mother and Momo still came a couple of times after their last visit. He was afraid that his last conversation with his mother would create an awkward atmosphere between them but when she came with Momo, he was glad that it didn't seem to have affected her. Although he did notice something different with the way she spoke with him. When he asked them if something was wrong, she said there wasn't and that he was probably thinking too much and after thinking about it, he realized that he was and he decided to just shrug it off.

The week passed by so fast with all the people who came to visit him and the day he was going to be released from the hospital came. He was sitting on the edge of the bed humming happily as Hatori made sure that they had everything they brought with them packed into the bag. "There." Hatori said as he zipped the bag close. "Are you done?" Momiji asked him "Yeah, we're good to go." Hatori answered back. "Okay! Let's go!" Momiji cheerfully said as he stood up.

Moving was no longer a problem for Momiji. The pain in his side had become dull and moving had become much easier, although he's still quite cautious of moving around too much since his ribs still haven't fully healed. Aside from that, the only other thing left that hasn't healed completely is his left arm.

Grabbing the bag from the table, Hatori went over to Momiji and guided him as they made their way outside the room. It was Momiji's first time to walk this far after he had lost his sight. Sure, he had walked around his room when moving around became easier and with the help of Hatori, who suggested that he practiced walking while being guided so that he won't have that much of a hard time when he gets released from the hospital, but knowing he was now walking outside his hospital room made him a bit nervous.

"Don't worry, I'm right here." Hatori probably sensed that he was nervous as he said those words and it had somehow calmed him down. They had reached the elevator and for the first time, Momiji tried to make out his surroundings from what he could hear as they waited for the elevator to reach their floor.

He could hear voices coming from both his left and right sides and it seemed like the people in this floor were really busy as he could feel the people pass by behind him, some slow, others fast and some were walking together discussing things that he wasn't able to hear properly because they walked to fast for him to actually understand anything.

He was too absorbed in his surroundings that he flinched in surprise when Hatori placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong Momiji?" the elevator's here." He told him. Momiji blinked "Oh, uh, it's nothing. I just got distracted. Let's go." He said sheepishly and Hatori guided him towards the elevator looking mildly amused.

The quiet sound of the elevator was the only thing Momiji could hear as it descended to the lobby of the hospital. After the elevator beeped, signaling that they were now on the lobby, the door opened and Momiji didn't need to see to know that the lobby was bustling with people. They stepped out and Hatori guided him towards the waiting area where the chairs are. "You can sit here and wait while I hand over your release form to the reception desk." Hatori told him "Stay here okay? It'll only take a short while." He finished as he watched Momiji felt around for one of the chairs and slowly sits on it. "Okay." Momiji answered and Hatori headed towards the reception desk.

Momiji leaned back into the chair as he continued listening to his surroundings. It was the first time that he had to rely on his hearing to create a picture in his mind of what his surrounding was like and it felt new to him. He could hear various things, from the loud voices of the people in the distance to the quiet low voices he could hear from the seat behind him and the sound of people walking around going to various directions talking, laughing, crying and many more. The various sounds he could hear were all meshing into each other that he was having a hard time pinpointing which sound belonged where. He was busy with trying to follow the sound of what he assumed was a wheelchair that he didn't notice the sound of footsteps heading towards him.

"Momiji-kun."

Momiji looked up towards the voice and smiled. "Maiko-san, what are you doing here?" Maiko smiled in return as she stood in front of Momiji. "I heard you were being released from the hospital today. I wanted to visit you for the last time. It seems I made it just in time to see you off." She said and Momiji's smile faltered just a little bit "Oh, I see. Well, technically I'm still not released, that is, until Hatori returns from the reception area. He's has my release papers." He told her.

"You must be excited. You can finally get out of the hospital." She said and Momiji laughed a little "Yeah, I can finally return home." He said happily "Although, I'll be staying at Hatori's place for a while since my father hasn't returned from his business trip yet." He added and Maiko's smile slowly disappeared.

"Momiji-kun, there's… something I wanted to tell you." She said, her voice was quiet but it was loud enough for Momiji to hear. "What is it?" he blinked in question. A few second passed between them and Maiko's expression turned serious. "Momiji-kun… I know." She said.

Momiji furrowed his brows in confusion "I'm sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean?" he asked her and for a second, a look of uncertainty passed through Maiko's face before returning to the serious look she had before.

"Momiji, I know now… that I'm your mother."

Momiji's eyes widened as her words sunk in. "…W-what?" his voice was trembling, but he couldn't stop it from doing so. She knows that he is her son. She knows about… the curse. "…How?" it was the only thing that came out of his mouth and Maiko could see his hands were shaking. "I'm sorry Momiji, I lied to you." She said apologetically "The picture in the locket, I saw what was inside." She said and she explained to him how she confronted his father about it, how his father told her the truth, about the curse and about erasing her memories.

Momiji sat in the chair, dumbstruck as he listened to his mother's explanations. His mind was swirling with thoughts, questions, he was thinking of what to do next, what would happen next.

"..ji-kun…Momiji-kun"

Momiji looked towards his mother's voice "What?" he was too absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear what she said. "I said I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. I didn't want to cause anymore stress for you. "She started "To be honest, I planned on not telling until after you've healed but, I realized it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't tell you about it. So when I heard that you were going to be released today, I came and I saw you sitting here." Her voice had become gentle as she finished explaining to him.

"…Momiji-kun?" Maiko called back thinking that the boy must have fallen back into thinking but he responded when she called him "…Does Momo know?" he asked quietly "No, I didn't tell her." She answered "I see…" Momiji lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes.

Maiko stared at the boy in front of her, she knew what she said would cause distraught for the boy but right now she didn't know what to do.

"Momiji-kun…" she called out the boy looked at her and she could see the confusion and anxiety in his eyes "Momiji-kun" she called again as she reached out to caress the boy's cheek thinking it would comfort him just like the last time she had done so. But at the moment that her hands touched Momiji's cheek, the boy had flinched and moved away from her touch in surprise. "I-I'm sorry." Maiko apologized; she was taken by surprise at the boy's reaction.

"Uh, no… it's okay…"Momiji managed to said a few seconds of silence fell on them "Um," Momiji began to speak gaining Maiko's attention "I know it might sound rude but… I'd like to ask you to not visit me for a while." Momiji slowly said and Maiko stared at him not knowing what to say. "Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not mad or anything but, I just think… I would need some time to gather my thoughts about this before I could talk to you again." Momiji explained.

"I see." Maiko said, her head lowered a little "Its okay, I think we all need the time to think about this as well." She told him. "Well then, I supposed I should get going." She said and Momiji only nodded in response.

"Oh, Maiko-san, I didn't expect to see you."

Both Maiko and Momiji turned to look in the direction where Hatori was coming from. "Hatori-san, I heard that Momiji-kun was leaving the hospital today and I dropped in to visit him one last time." Maiko said, forcing a smile on her face. "I see." Hatori replied. He then turned to Momiji "I'm sorry it took so long. I didn't expect that there would be so many people today, the reception desk was full of people." He told Momiji. Momiji shook his head "No, it's okay." He too, had a small smile in his face "Are we done then? Can we go home?" he asked as he stood up.

Hatori nodded "Yeah, we can go home now. And you Maiko-san?" he turned to the woman standing beside Momiji "I have to go as well; I have an appointment to go to." She said. "Well then, shall we all go out together then?" Hatori asked and after receiving a small nod from Maiko, he stood beside Momiji and started to guide him across the lobby and towards the exit. As they began to head into different directions, Momiji and Hatori towards Hatori's car and Maiko towards her own, Maiko called out.

"Momiji-kun, until the next time we meet."

Momiji stopped and looked back at her. Her words had a certain feeling to it. It had a tone of finality to it and it unsettled Momiji. But nonetheless he nodded "Yeah, until the next time we meet." He echoed her last words and Maiko had a small smile on her face as she turned away after saying farewell.

Hatori watched the exchange silently and turned to Momiji as they began to walk towards his car. Hatori noticed there was something different with Momiji after he returned. He wondered if Maiko had said anything to boy while he was gone. But then again she did say she was visiting him for the last time. Momiji was probably sad about it but was trying not to show it. He always felt a little sad whenever maiko would tell him that she had leave and go home or that she had an appointment to go to. Momiji never showed it, but Hatori could tell. He did, after all, spend a lot of time with Momiji before so he knew how to read the boy's expressions.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. It took a few more seconds before Momiji answered "No, it's nothing." He replied back. And Hatori stared at the boy a little while more. He was probably thinking too much about it and was being paranoid. But for some reason there was something nagging at the back of Hatori's mind about the way Momiji and Maiko looked when he saw them from afar. Returning his gaze back towards his car, he decided that whatever it was that happened, he knew Momiji would tell him one way or the other. Right now, all he needs to do is wait. Asking Momiji about it now won't make the boy tell him anyway so that's what he'll do.

As they reached the car, he helped Momiji into the passenger seat and then put the bag into the back of the car before they left the hospital and headed back to the main house.

* * *

Author's notes:

...I was actually thinking of putting another cliffhanger here but then Lady Lilac might hate me even more for leaving the chapter off with another suspense XD so i toned it down a little. I'm not sure about the next chapters though LOL

Truthfully, I actually had a hard time writing Haru since his character is hard to get (for me) and Maiko and Mizuki's scene took me forever to write! I was visualizing the scene too much that I got confused about which POV would come after which dialogue . but then after a lot of rewriteing and editing I've finally fixed it and I'm glad with the outcome.

Anyway, there you have it! Chapter 5! Now let me know what you guys think ^^


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes:

I'M BACK! I survived hell week and finally it's SUMMER VACATION! XD I finally finished writing this chapter. Sorry it took a while to post this, I had been so excited to be free from classes that I completely went lethargic for the past few days XD

Also, thank you for the wonderful reviews! I feel ecstatic whenever I read them ^^ and they make me want to write right away.

as for the grammar, I'm really sorry if some of you got confused with the tensing. I don't have a beta so I proof read and check everything on my own and I tend to only do spell checks and make sure the phrasings are alright and usually forget to check the tensing. And for that, I apologize. For the sudden changes in POVs, I try to remedy that by putting it in another paragraph.

Anyway, that's enough for now.

On with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 6

Maiko had just arrived home when she noticed the pair of shoes in the genkan. "Mizuki?" she called out as she made her way into their house. She had just passed by the living room when she noticed the office door was slightly ajar. "Mizuki?" she called once more as she slowly swung the door wider, giving her a clear view of her husband's office.

"Oh, you're back." Mizuki said giving her a small smile. He was kneeling in behind the desk where one of the larger desk drawers were open, a small neat stack of envelopes were placed by his side. "What are you doing? I thought you wouldn't be back until later?" she asked him as she walked into the room and stood beside the desk while Mizuki returned to looking through the files in the drawer. "I couldn't find a couple of documents in my bag and was looking around in my office when I remembered I left them here, but. . ." he drawled on as he stared at the drawer ". . .I can't seem to find it." he said with a sigh.

"I can help if you want." Maiko offered as she slightly leaned on the desk. "No, it's alright. I know I hid it in this drawer, I just have to find it." Mizuki told her and a short moment of silence passed by with nothing but the shuffling of papers and envelopes could be heard. "By the way, where did you go today? I thought you didn't have any plans for today." He asked her "Oh, well. . ." Maiko began ". . . I went to the hospital today." she said slowly. Mizuki stopped and turned to look at her. "You went to see Momiji?"

Maiko nodded "He got released from the hospital today. I wanted to see him before he returned to the Sohma main house." She told him. After she had found out about Momiji, she had asked Mizuki about him once again and of course, Mizuki had told her what she wanted to from the things she was told about the junishi, she found out that the junishi and only the people who knew about the curse were allowed to live inside and that those who didn't know lived outside.

"How. . ." Mizuki began "how is he?" his voice was quiet but Maiko could sense the concern for the boy. Come to think of it, this was the same tone of voice he used whenever she would tell him about Momiji; even before she found out about the truth. It was funny how she never seemed to have noticed it before when she could easily notice it now. Then again, she never really paid much attention to such things before; she only thought that her husband was quite curious about Momiji which was why he would asked a lot about the boy whenever she would see him.

"He's fine. Aside from his arm and his rib, everything seemed to have healed already." She told him "He also seemed really excited to be finally getting out of the hospital." She added and Mizuki let out a small sigh of relief "I see. I was a little worried about him since I wasn't able to visit during the last couple of days because of work." He said "I'm glad he's doing alright." After saying that, he turned back to the drawer, looking through the files once more and a short silence descended in the room.

After some time, Mizuki finally broke the silence "Oh, that's right." He glanced up at Maiko "if you're looking for Momo, she's in her room taking a nap." He told her "Oh, I see." Maiko said. She was actually wondering where Momo was since she knew the girl liked to be around her father whenever he's at home.

"Oh, I found it."

Maiko looked back to Mizuki who was now pulling an envelope out from the rest of the files in the drawer. "I knew I put it somewhere in this drawer." He placed the envelope on top of the desk and he began to place the other folders and envelopes he pulled out earlier back into their respective places in the drawers. "Great, you found it." Maiko said as she got closer to Mizuki. The small stack of envelopes placed beside Mizuki suddenly slid sideward's and fell and Maiko kneeled beside him and started to pick them up one by one "Let me help you with that." She said and Mizuki thanked her.

"By the way, there's something else I haven't told you about, Mizuki." Maiko said quietly "Hm? What is it?" Mizuki glanced at her "I. . . I told Momiji the truth." Maiko uttered and Mizuki who was about to hand her one of the envelopes that slid to his side froze at the statement. " . . . I thought, you said you didn't want to tell him right away." He turned to her as he lowered his hand that had the envelope.

Maiko's gaze lowered from her husband to the floor "I know. That was what I wanted to do, but. . . he was going to be released from the hospital today, and I might not get the chance to see him again for a long time since he would be returning to the main house." She explained quietly. She doesn't usually go to the main house, only when there was an occasion or when visiting Mizuki's parents, aside from that, she rarely goes there. She doesn't know why, but whenever she was there she felt uncomfortable, like there was something heavy and serious in the atmosphere in the place, which was why she only went there when it was needed.

When she looked up at her husband, she could see that his expression had become more serious. "How did it go?" he asked and Maiko couldn't help but think back on her and Momiji's conversation earlier in the hospital. "He was. . . really surprised, a little speechless." She began "We didn't get to talk much after I told him everything. But before we parted ways, Momiji told me that I shouldn't visit him for a while. That he needed time to think about things. After that, Hatori-san came and took Momiji back home." She finished. "I see." Mizuki said and silence descended on them once more.

"Well, if that's what Momiji said, then give him some time to think over it." Mizuki told her and he began placing the last couple of envelopes back inside the drawer and closed it with a gentle thud. "I know." Maiko said and she looked up to see Mizuki already standing and offering a hand to help her stand and she took it. After helping her get up from the floor Mizuki started dusting off invisible dust from his pants and trying to see if his clothes got wrinkled in some places. Maiko glanced at the clock on the wall "You should get going. You said you have a meeting right?" she told him "Yes." Mizuki answered and after making sure that his clothes weren't wrinkled or anything, he grabbed the files on the desk and placed them on his bag and grabbed his coat.

"Don't worry too much. Momiji will talk to you when the time comes." He reassured Maiko who nodded "Yes, I know." She quietly replied. "I'll see you later then." Mizuki said and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Yeah, see you later." Maiko replied and Mizuki smiled back at her before closing the door and headed back to work. 

* * *

"Okay, we're here."

Hatori said as the car stopped shortly after entering the Sohma estate. Expecting a reply that never came, he turned to look at Momiji, who looked like he hadn't heard a thing. "Momiji." He tried to call the boy's attention again which seemed successful this time since Momiji slightly turned his head in his direction "Huh?" Momiji said and Hatori sighed inwardly. Ever since they left the hospital Momiji seemed to be quite distracted. Despite his attempts at starting a conversation, Momiji was completely out of it and would only say a couple of words before becoming silent again. He eventually gave up after realizing that the boy was just not in the mood to talk and the rest of the ride remained silent.

"I said we're here already." He repeated "Oh, that was fast." Momiji said and he unbuckled his seatbelt and Hatori stared at the boy's response. Something must have happened when he was talking with his mother while he was away in the reception desk. It was the only reason he could think of to make Momiji behave like this. After all, Momiji was quite excited to go home and was still acting like his usual self before he met Maiko at the lobby.

"Be careful when getting out of the car, you might hit your head." Hatori reminded him and he heard an audible 'okay' as he got out of the car and headed to the back to get the bag. After that, he went over to Momiji, who was standing idly beside the car, and guided him as they made their way to his house.

His house wasn't really that far from the gate of the Sohma estate compared to the main house where Akito resided in, but it was still relatively far and the road inside doesn't lead to all of the houses inside. And even though Hatori is well aware that Momiji knew his way to his house by heart, since the boy often visited, but he knew he can't just expect Momiji to walk by himself, given that he could trip and fall, especially since his arm still hasn't healed. So he guided Momiji along with one hand on his shoulder, the other carrying the bag, and warning Momiji to be careful every now and then.

They arrived at the house, luckily without any trouble, a few minutes later. After Hatori led him inside the house, Momiji slowly took off his shoes and carefully walked into the hallway. "I know you know your way around the house, but still, be careful, alright?" he heard Hatori from behind. "Okay." He answered back. After that it seemed that Hatori headed off into another room, probably to put down the bag he was carrying.

Momiji continued to walk along the hallway, and just to be sure he was walking the right way, he kept his free hand on the wall. He arrived at the living room and carefully felt around until he found the sofa and sat down letting the cool breeze from the open glass doors that lead to the small garden reach him. During his stay at the hospital, his father and Hatori had agreed that he will be staying at Hatori's place until he gets better and he actually preferred it that way. After all, there was no one else in his house except for the occasional servant that came whenever he needed something.

Besides, he liked Hatori's house. It was relatively smaller compared to the other houses in the estate which was probably because Hatori lives alone, although it looks larger from the outside because his clinic was connected to his house. And in contrast to what most people seemed to think about Hatori's house, that it probably looked spic and span all the time, which probably resulted from the cool, professional impression Hatori gives people, it wasn't exactly true. It was neat, yes, but not exactly the 'spic and span' type like those houses you see on TV commercials that looked too clean and too uncomfortable to be in. in fact, Hatori's house actually feels more homey and welcoming than his own, which was why he liked to visit often. He also enjoyed the older man's presence and he always listened to what he had to say.

Speaking of which, he still hasn't told Hatori about what his mother told him back at the hospital. He doesn't know how the man will react; then again, he doesn't even know what to think about the situation. Yes, his mother now knows the truth about him, the junishi and the curse and she seemed to be taking everything quite well. And him? Well, after getting past all the confusion and shock that he felt from the sudden revelation and had gathered his thoughts, he realized that he was really happy about it. After all, from his mother's reaction it seemed that she wanted to get closer to him, despite knowing the truth, and he does too.

Momiji closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned his head back into the sofa. He is happy, but, somehow he can't help but feel a little sad as well. Because even though she knows about him being her son, she is still the "Maiko-san" who only knows him as the cheerful, bubbly boy she met and not the mother who knew what and who he was.

He suddenly remembered the secret he told Tohru. About how he wished his mother had never chosen to forget. That she could have just kept her memories; because he believed that there was no such thing as a memory that was better left forgotten. That was probably why he wasn't as happy as he'd expect himself to be. She never knew him as one of the cursed junishi, never saw him in his rabbit form. She could easily accept the truth about him because she has never experienced it ever since her memories of him were erased.

Letting out a small sigh, Momiji wondered if she would still have the same reaction towards him if she had caught him, if she'd seen him transform before the curse was broken. Would she still treat him the same? Would she still smile at him like she does now? Would she still care for him? Or would she once again reject him? Would she once more only look at him with fear and disgust? Momiji slightly shook his head. What was he thinking? He should be happy that his mother was able to accept him as her son. He shouldn't be thinking of such things.

In fact, he should be content with all that was happening. After all, his mother seemed to be alright even when the truth came out and she was the one who approached him, so there was a possibility that he may once again be able to live with his family. And that was more than enough for him. He should be happy, really.

"I'm thinking too much." He mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes and decided to just sit back and relax as another cool breeze entered the room.

"Momiji."

He opened his eyes as he heard Hatori's voice from somewhere in the house "I'm here in the living room Hatori." He called back and he heard quiet footsteps come closer and enter the living room. "I was wondering where you went. I had a few of you things brought over earlier today. They're in the guest room." Hatori said. Momiji sat up straight and turned in Hatori's direction "Really?" "Yeah, it's just the necessities though." He paused "I also had something something I thought you really wanted to see brough over just now." Hatori told him and somehow Momiji could feel Hatori smile as he said so.

"What is it?" he asked the older man "Let's go to your room. It's better if you see it for yourself." Hatori said and ruffled Momiji's hair "Hey!" Momiji laughed a little as he tried to fix his hair back before he stood up and followed Hatori to the guest room, which was now his current room. Hatori opened the door and went inside and Momiji followed suit but just as he was about to step forward his foot hit something hard and he quicky placed a hand on the wall to balance himself "Be careful, there are still several boxes on the floor." Hatori grabbed his hand and guided him inside of the room evading the boxes and when they reached the other side of the room, Hatori placed him in front of a small desk.

"Hatori?" Momiji slightly turned his head in Hatori's direction in question. Hatori didn't usually do things like this; he was always straight to the point if he wanted to say or show him something. So he was really wondering what it was the older man wanted him to 'see'. "It's on the table." Momiji raised a brow at the older man's reply but since he had no other choice, he reached out to the table.

True enough, there was indeed something on top of it. His hands touched something hard. Wood? He thought. No, it wasn't wood, but it was definitely hard. A box? He realized as his hands roamed around, feeling the corners and the sides which was smooth. It was probably covered by some kind of leather. He wondered what could be inside it since it seemed to take up a large portion of the table and he tried to recall among his things if he had something like this. His hands fell on the side facing him and he felt a couple of small locks and a handle in between.

Momiji blinked as he tried to make out of what the object was when his eyes slightly widened as he finally realized what it was. Quickly reaching out for the locks, he carefully opened it and lifted the lid, and then he reached out until his hand landed on the object inside. A small smile made its way to his lips as he felt the smooth wooden surface. His hands glided over as it followed the curves and details of the wood before it landed on the chord with it's four strings. Unconsciously, he let one of his fingers pluck a string creating a soft tune.

"How is it?" Hatori asked, still standing behind him and the smile on Momiji's face grew as he turned to face him "You brought my violin!" he said with a laugh and Hatori smiled "You seemed to be a little down, so I thought I'd bring this to cheer you up." He said and Momiji was a little taken aback at what he said. He didn't realize that his behavior earlier had worried Hatori that the man had to cheer him up himself.

"Thank you, Hatori." He said gratefully "Also, I'm sorry. You were worried weren't you? About earlier." He quietly said. Hatori stayed quiet for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face before he spoke "I know that something happened while you were talking with your mother. You seemed to change when I came back from the reception desk." He said to Momiji "I wanted to ask you, but you seemed quite preoccupied earlier and I didn't want to pry. Besides, I know you'd tell me eventually when you're ready to tell me, so it's alright." He finished and Momiji stood in place, his hand still placed on the violin.

"No, it's okay. I'll tell you." Momiji said and Hatori looked at him "Are you sure? If you're not ready yet, it could still wait." Hatori told him. Momiji nodded "Yeah, its okay." He said. Turning back to the violin, he continued to trace his fingers along the strings, feeling the metallic texture against his skin.

Truth be told, he actually thought of telling Hatori about what happened in the hospital earlier but he looking for the right time to tell him. Also, he wanted to gather his own thoughts first before telling the older man so he kept quiet about it. He didn't know that in doing so he had made Hatori worry so much that Hatori decided to cheer him up by himself. But now that Hatori brought up the topic again, he migh as well tell Hatori the truth.

"Mother said she came to see me because I was finally going to be released from the hospital." He began "But, she also said that it wasn't the real reason why she came." Momiji paused for a while and for a moment, Hatori thought Momiji wouldn't continue.

"What was the reason?" he asked quietly "She said that she already knows the truth; about the curse, and me being her son." He paused; letting his words sink in with Hatori. ". . .what?" Hatori's uttered, his tone was quiet but the surprise was definitely there. Momiji turned to him and for a moment, Hatori almost forgot that he was blind as their eyes met. Brown unfocused eyes met gray.

"She knows the truth, Hatori."

* * *

Author's Notes:

I had a hard time writing this chapter. I kept rewriting and revising stuff and I couldn't seem to get my momentum in this one, but I'm satisfied with the way it came out. It's also shorter than the previous chapters but all in all it pretty much got what I wanted to put across so. . .yeah. I know I had some other stuff to put here but I can't really remember right now so maybe I'll say it next time :P

Also, I'm not sure if I've kept Hatori in character here, he might be a little OOC, I'm not sure :P

If you find any grammatical errors and the like, please tell me!

I'm curious about what you think of the story so far so tell me what you think okay? ^^


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long wait. This time, I have no excuse except that Kekkaishi, Junjou Romantica, Sekai ichi Hatsukoi and Vocaloid had (and actually still is) dominated most of my time which is why I only finished this chapter now. I have some stuff to say but I'm sure you wanna guys read now so. . .

On with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 7

Momo walked quietly as she made her way to the Sohma main house. She told her mommy that she was going to play with her friends in the park, an excuse she often used whenever she wanted to see Momiji, and her mommy agreed, telling her to be back in a couple of hours. It had been a couple of days since she was told that Momiji got out of the hospital and she was a little upset when she found out that her mommy had visited Momiji without telling her.

Momo huffed a little as she remembered it, her lips curling into a small pout. She wanted to see Momiji too. Why didn't her mommy take her when she went to see him when he got out of the hospital? She asked her many times but her mommy would always tell her that she went to an appointment that morning before going to the hospital and she didn't want to wake her up earlier than usual only to make her wait the whole morning.

Well, her mommy did have a point. It was always boring whenever her mommy would have to meet with people she didn't know and she would have to wait for her to finish talking to them, so she was slightly okay with it. After that, she asked if they could visit Momiji the next day but her mommy only looked at her apologetically and said that they can't visit for a while. When she asked her why they can't, her mommy told her that it was hard to explain why and they just can't go for a visit awhile.

It was unfair. Really. She thought as she lightly kicked a small rock in front of her, sending it a couple of feet away. She didn't get to see Momiji before he went home and now her mommy tells her that they can't go and visit him for a while. It was just unfair.

The high walls surrounding the Sohma main house came into view as Momo turned a corner and her steps became faster. She really wanted to see Momiji even if her mommy said that they can't visit for a while. Besides, she could always just go and watch him just like she did before and this time she didn't have to hide so much since Momiji can't see right now. She just had to keep quiet and make sure Momiji won't notice her.

Reaching the main house, she slowly made her way to the part of the wall that had the secret entrance that was hidden by the bushes. Looking around to see if anyone might see her and finding no one, Momo let out a small sigh of relief and she continued to go inside the bushes and through the hole in the wall.

As she finally crawled out of the small hole, Momo stood quietly and looked around if there was anyone who might notice her. Finding no one, she checked her dress to see if any dirt that got into it and when she found none, she continued to make her way into Momiji's house.

Whenever she sneaked inside the main house she often stared at the beautiful gardens and houses inside. For her, the main house was like a different world compared to the outside. it was quiet and peaceful and full of pretty gardens and trees. The houses were large and connected by many hallways and pathways and whenever she came there to play with her friend or to watch Momiji, she felt like she was having an adventure, having to hide and sneak inside the main house so that she won't be seen and scolded.

She remembered the first time she saw Momiji. It was when she and her mommy were going to see her daddy in his office and they saw him in the hallway. When she saw him, she felt a little shy at first since he was older than her and she thought he was a girl because the clothes he wore looked like a girls. But when she looked at him more she thought that he looked like her mommy. They had the same hair and eye color and even the way his hair looked like was similar to her mommy.

She told her mommy that she and Momiji looked alike but her mommy just laughed and said they didn't. She then told her daddy the same thing and she wondered why her daddy had a weird look in his face. Just like when he was having a problem with his work and then he told her that she can't meet with him anymore. When she asked her daddy why, he got angry and said that they just can't meet.

She didn't want to make her daddy angrier so she stopped talking about Momiji but she still thought about him a lot. One day when she was secretly playing hide and seek inside the main house with her friend and was hurriedly looking for a place to hide, she heard a melody. Curious, she searched for the source of the beautiful melody and she saw that it came from one of the houses nearby.

When she arrived at the house, she was surprised to see Momiji. She was so happy that she finally knew where he lived and she wanted to go talk to him but then remembered what her daddy said and so she decided to just watch from where she was. He was playing the violin and was making such pretty sounds that she wanted to play the violin too.

As the days passed and she kept coming back to watch Momiji, she sometimes wonder why she doesn't see anyone else in the house except for Momiji. Where was his mommy and daddy? Why was he always alone in the house? She wanted to ask him. She wanted to befriend him. But she was afraid to go and ask because her daddy told her that she can't talk to him. So when she saw Momiji's friend she had asked her to tell him for her the things she wanted to say. That she wanted to play the violin with him and that she wanted him to be her big brother so that they could be together.

After quietly walking behind the trees and houses, Momiji's house slowly came into view and Momo started to walk slower, looking around to see if there was anyone that might see her. Finding no one, she reached the fence that separated the house from the others and she took a peek, seeing the view of Momiji's room.

Momo blinked, a little puzzled. Momiji wasn't there. Then again, there were times that she came and Momiji wasn't in the room either and came in a little later. Maybe if she waited she would get to see Momiji. So that's what she did and she waited while glancing around every now and then to see if there was someone around that might see her. After a while, her feet were starting to get tired and she sat down still waiting for Momiji to enter his room.

Momo was starting to feel sleepy with all the waiting she was doing. Momiji still hasn't come in his room and and she was bored. She didn't like waiting for a long time but she wanted to see Momiji. She wondered where he was. She would always find him in his room most of the time she came to watch him so why wasn't he there now?

Then she started to think that maybe Momiji was busy. Was that why he's not in his room? Was he busy? Momo thought. If Momiji was so busy that he can't come into his room, then maybe he was in the other rooms in the house? She didn't really know what people do when they say their busy because they move around so much that before she would see what they were doing, they were already moving to another place. Just like the other people she saw on her daddy's office, they often moved around looking for something or another.

Momo nodded to herself. That's it. Maybe Momiji was busy going around the house that he can't go back to his room right now. Still wanting to see Momiji, Momo stood up and decided that she would look around the house to see if Momiji was in the other rooms. She walked towards the house and looked through the next window closest to Momiji's room but no one was there, so she moved on to the next window but she still saw no one. She continued doing this until she was almost halfway across the house.

She was too focused on what she was doing that she didn't notice the presence of another person coming from behind.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Momo froze, still holding onto the window sill, as she heard the voice. Her mind suddenly racing as she realized she had been caught. Slowly, she let go of the window sill and placed herself down from her tip-toed position. She let out the breath she had unknowingly held as she felt her heart beating fast. She was caught. She would be scolded by her mommy and daddy for lying and for entering the main house without permission and snooping around one of the houses.

Her eyes started to feel wet with tears. She might not be allowed to go to the main house anymore. She blinked back the tears as she heard the person behind come closer to her. Slowly, she turned away from the window, and turned to look at the person who caught her. 

* * *

Momiji sat in the dining table, a cup of tea and a slice of chocolate cake in front of him. Hatori was busy working in the clinic and left him in the kitchen after helping him prepare the snack. After taking a sip of the tea, he grabbed the fork and began eating the cake. As the days passed, Momiji became more used to eating and doing things on his own. He would still ask Hatori for help sometimes when he can't do something or find what he needed, but it became less frequent and Momiji was more than glad that he's getting used to moving around on his own.

Speaking of Hatori. The older man seemed to have taken the news about his mother well. He calmly listened as Momiji told him the full story of what happened in the hospital and how he asked her to give him some time to think about things. Hatori agreed that he needed time to think and told him that if there was anything he could do to help him, he just needed to ask.

"This chocolate cake is so good!" he said to himself as he happily continued to eat. Tohru came by yesterday and brought the cake with her. They spent a lot of time talking about many things. Then he told her about his mother and what they talked about in the hospital. And as always, Tohru was worried, but she told him that it'll be okay. She smiled as she told him that. He couldn't see anymore but he knew that Tohru was smiling, he could feel it from her. Just like how she always does whenever she comforted him or Yuki or Kyo or anyone else for that matter. She would always smile gently and tell them that everything will be okay and say the things that always seemed to be the words people would want to hear. She was just that kind of person and after they had finished talking, he had felt better.

After finishing the last piece of the cake and his tea, he gingerly picked up the plate and cup and placed them down on the sink. Thinking of what to do next, he remembered that he had those braille materials Hatori brought him yesterday.

It had been decided by his father and Hatori that Momiji would have to transfer to a different school since his current school didn't have any special classes for students with cases like his. Luckily, they found a school that accepts students like him and that he would continue his studies by learning how to read braille. It was also relatively near to the main house, but he can't be enrolled right now since it was already the middle of the semester.

As the decision was made, both his father and Haotri thought it best that he should start learning how to read braille before hand, saying it would make it easier for him to catch up with his studies if he learned reading braille now.

When they asked him what he thought about their decision he said he was okay with it. Besides, it's not like he had much to do now. So he told them that he agreed and that he could start learning how to read braille. In fact, Hatori started to teach him yesterday. Teaching him how to distinguish a specific dot and the letter corresponding to it and gave him some materials to practice on. But since Hatori was busy working in the clinic today, he decided that he would just study what he was taught yesterday and familiarize himself with the letters today.

Making his way to his rooom, he headed to the desk placed everything he used yesterday. A small frown made its way to his face as he groped around the desk but found nothing. "Strange, I'm sure I placed it here yesterday." He groped around the desk more and the furniture close to it "Where could it be?" he scratched his head as he asked himself.

Maybe he left it at a different table? But he wasn't that sure, he still had a problem of leaving things in different places. Momiji left his room and made his way to Hatori's clinic. He should go ask Hatori, the older man might have seen where he left them. Reaching the door, he lightly knocked and opened the door. "Hari"

Hatori looked up from his desk and turned to look at the doorway where Momiji stood "What is it?" he asked. "Have you seen where I placed the materials you gave me yesterday? I can't find them." he told Hatori. He heard the chair swivel a bit, probably Hatori turning to face him "I saw it in the table at the living room. Are you going to review what I taught you yesterday?" he asked "Yeah" Momiji nodded "I could continue teaching you if you want." Hatori offered and Momiji shook his head. "No, it's okay, I just have nothing to do, and you're pretty busy right now."he told him. "Well, if you say so. Just call me if you need anything." Hatori said. "Right, thanks." Momiji said and he turned back towards the living room. "I knew t. I placed it somewhere else." He silently mumbled to himself.

He reached the living room and headed for the table and sure enough, his materials were there. Finally finding his materials, he grabbed them and was about to turn back into his room when he stopped, listening attentively. Did he just hear something? It sounded like a knock, but he wasn't sure, it sounded so faint. He stood still for a moment, listening for the faint sound he heard earlier. Nothing.

Momiji sighed and turned back, about to leave the room, when he heard the sound again. Much louder this time. Turning back to the source of the sound, he listened again and surely enough, another knock was heard.

Judging from the direction, it came from the large glass doors that led to the small garden outside. Was someone there? Momiji wondered. Walking towards the door, he reached over and slid it open, letting the gentle breeze enter.

"Yo"

Came a greeting and Momiji blinked in surprise. "Haru? Why are you here?" he asked, surprise still evident in his voice. "Visiting." Came the short reply and Momiji let out a small laugh "I know. I mean why are you entering in the living room and not through the main door?" he asked. "A change in scenery." Haru replied "Also, she didn't want to go through the main door." He added.

"She?" Momiji repeated. Who did he mean? Did he bring along Rin? But surely Rin wouldn't just enter Hatori's house through the living room. Then again, she often visited Shigure's home unannounced. "That's right. She." Haru answered and Momiji heard some shuffling "What's wrong?" You wanted to see him right?" he heard Haru speak, but it wasn't directed at him "Go on." Haru urged. Momiji tilted his head "Haru, who is it?" he asked when he felt a light tug on his shirt and looked down.

"Momiji"

Momiji's eyes widen in surprise "Momo? What. . .How did you get here?" he asked her. Even though it became less strict inside the main house after the curse broke, it was still hard for people in the outside to get inside the main house and usually they only came when they had business with the head. Not receiving any reply from his sister, he called her again "Momo?" but she only made a small sound.

"I saw her looking around your house. So I thought I'd bring her to you before anyone else might see her." Haru said causing both Momiji and Momo to look up at him. "In my house?" he asked the taller teen before lowering his head to where Momo is "What were you doing in my house-" "I'm sorry Momiji. Mommy said I can't visit but I just wanted to see you." Momo cut him off tugging a little harder on the his shirt as she spoke "But when I came to your house, you weren't there." She said, her voice had become lower "I'm sorry."

After hearing what Momo said, Momiji remembered what Tohru told him before when she came to see Kureno. That Momo had been watching him in secret. Coming over to the main house just to watch him. A smile made its way to his face and he lightly patted Momo's head, causing her to look up at him "It's okay. I'm not mad at you for coming." He told her and Momo's face lit up as she heard that he wasn't mad.

"By the way, what's that?" Haru asked gesturing at the papers Momiji held against him "Oh, these?" he held them out for Haru to see. "Is that braille?" the taller teen asked and Momiji nodded "Yup." "What's braille?" he heard Momo ask. Crouching down so that they were nearly eye level, he explained to her what it was and how he will be able to read books without needing to see with his eyes. "Hatori's teaching me how to read braille." He he finished

"Is it hard?" Momo asked beside Momiji who was also sitting down. They were now sitting on the floor, their feet dangling off from the elevated floor of the house. Momiji had slid the other glass door open, providing more space, and both Haru and Momo sat beside him. "It's hard, but it's also fun." He told her cheerfully and they continued on their conversation until Haru stood up, making both Momiji and Momo turn to him.

" I'll go out for a sec and check on Rin." Haru said and Momiji turned to him "Rin's here too?" he asked "Yeah, we were walking together when I saw Momo. She said she'd come along here because she thinks I'd get lost on the way." Haru explained earning a small chuckle from Momiji "You do get lost a lot. Why didn't she come here though?" he asked the taller teen. "You know how Rin is." Haru shrugged "She's in the outer garden." He told him and he started to walk back the direction he and Momo came from. "Well then, I'll be back in a while." He said, smiling a little as he left and a calm silence fell between the two left behind.

A gentle breeze passed and Momiji was about to start another conversation when he heard Momo mumble something. Not understanding it, he asked her again what she was saying.

"Momiji, um. . ." Momo fidgeted, seemingly hesitating. "What is it? You can tell me." Momiji said, urging her to continue. It seemed to work and after a few seconds of silence, Momo started to speak again "Um, if it's okay. . . can. . . can Momiji be Momo's. . .big brother?" she asked shyly.

Momiji's eyes grew wide at hearing this. Big brother? Has their parents told her about him being her older brother? Does she really know? "Big brother. . ." he breath out "Momo, did they tell you about it?" he asked. And form a moment, Momo looked thoughtful, "They?" she mumbled to herself before looking back at him "Tell Momo what?" she curiously asked him back and Momiji had the sudden urge to slap himself. No. Of course they haven't told her anything about him. At least not yet. And now, here he was giving hints to his sister after assuming that she knows the truth, only to find that she still didn't know anything.

"Momiji?" Momo called and for the first time in a long time, Momiji was at a loss, thinking of ways to somehow explain to her what he meant without giving away anything. He ended up thinking in silence as Momo continued to watch him, waiting for an answer. Coming up with nothing, Momiji decided finally he'd just change the subject when Momo's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"So, is it true then?" she asked him, lightly tugging on his shirt. "What is?" he asked her, not really understanding what she meant. "That you are my big brother." Momo told him "Is it true?" Momiji blinked, surprised at the sudden statement "M-Momo, what are you saying? That isn't-" "But you look so much like mommy!" Momo cut him off, silencing Momiji "You really do! Even if mommy said you didn't!" she told him ". . and. . .and. . . Momo really wants you to be. . .her big brother. Because. . . when Momo looks at Momiji, he feels like. . .family. . ." Momo finished, her voice drifting off as she said the last words, her hands still clutching the hem of Momiji's shirt and her head lowered a little.

Momiji sat still in silence as he let Momo's words sink in. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. What Tohru said to him that day when she went to look for Kureno was true.

"_She wanted to know if you wouldn't be her big brother."_

Momo said so herself. The fact that she could feel it, the bond of being a family, that even when she didn't know the truth and yet, was yearning for it was enough to make Momiji burst in happiness. That despite not knowing, she was still somehow aware that they were connected, and that she was reaching out to him.

After hearing such a confession from his only sister, Momiji felt that he was left with no other choice but to tell her. He didn't want to lie to her, not after all the things she said to him. To lie and say that it isn't true would hurt her, and Momiji didn't want that. Not for Momo.

Sighing a little, a gentle smile formed on his lips as he patted Momo on the head, making her look up at him "You got me." He said "Eh?" Momo tilted her head and Momiji laughed a little "I guess I just can't hide it from you anymore, huh?" he said and Momo's eyes widened "So it's true? You're really my big brother?" she asked him excitedly.

"Yeah." He nodded "But then, why don't you live with us? And why doesn't mommy remember you? And daddy doesn't talk about you." She asked him, sounding more subdued compared to earlier.

"Momiji's smile turned into a sad one as he gently patted her head once more "That's because there were. . . many difficult circumstances we were facing before." He answered. Despite telling her that they were siblings, somehow he still didn't want to tell her everything, the curse and their mother forgetting him."Circumstances?" Momo repeated "That's right." He answered back "Like what?" Momo asked again, leaning closer to Momiji and Momiji looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, there's a lot. And it's difficult to explain." He explained and he heard an 'oh' sound come from Momo "Then, is that why you don't live with us?" she asked again and Momiji nodded "That's right. Because of those circumstances, I have to stay here in the main house." he told her and Momo continued bombarding him with questions.

"Does daddy know about you too?"

"Yup. He visits me when he has time."

"Do you go on trips with daddy then?"

"We don't. We usually just eat together and spend some time doing other stuff."

"How come no one's at your house? Do you live alone?"

"Yeah, but a servant or two always comes to check in on me sometimes. And sometimes I stay over here at Hatori's house."

"Don't you feel lonely then? Living alone?"

The last question struck Momiji like a chord. "Yes, I do, sometimes." He told her truthfully. He did feel lonely. Felt it countless times when he was younger. And he would often wish that he would still be with his family during those times. Even though he knew that he can't. But as he grew up, he got used to it. Treated it as if it was a normal everyday thing and moved on.

That was how he got through such things. When you're feeling down, then so be it. Let it flow out. Let it show. Cry if necessary. And after doing all of that, move on and carry on with life. Because he knew nothing would come about by wallowing in such feelings. Letting it linger on would only bring about more pain. Momiji knew this. That's why he tried his best to move on past such feelings. He didn't want to feel any more pain than he already does.

Momiji closed his eyes, feeling the gentle breeze as it passed. "Momiji?" opening them, he titled his head at hearing Momo's voice "Is something wrong?" she asked, noticing the change in mood. Shaking his head, he answered "No, it's nothing." And started another conversation. They spent a few more moments talking happily, listening to each other's story about one thing or another.

They enjoyed spending time together that they forgot about the time. It was only when Haru came back that they remembered that Momo had been there for quite some time. "Well, I guess you should be going home now." He told her and he can't help but smile as he heard a small disappointed sound from Momo. "You've been here for quite some time now. They might start to worry about where you are." He said to her. "Can Momo come visit again?" she asked and he nodded "Sure. Be careful on the way back, okay?" He said and patted her on the head. "Okay" Momo happily told him and she went over to Haru."Ready?" Haru asked and Momo nodded "Bye Momiji." She said and Momiji waved back.

After that, both Haru and Momo left, leaving Momiji alone in the living room just like how he was earlier. Picking up his braile materials, which he placed on the floor earlier, he stood up and headed to his room and placed it on the desk. He had wanted to review what Hatori taught him, but it could wait until tomorrow. After all, he got to spend time with Momo. And that was more fun than having to guess which dot represents what letter. 

* * *

Maiko stood by the sink, washing the utensils she used to cook pancakes for Momo. "Are you still mad at me mommy?" Momo asked, looking up from her half eaten pancakes. She had been severly scolded by her mother yesterday after she went out to look for her in the park only to find out from her friends that she never came to play with them that afternoon.

"I'm not mad Momo. Not anymore." She said, not looking away from the sink. After allowing her daughter to play outside with her friends, she started to get worried when Momo still wasn't home past the time she told her. After another half hour had passed and her daughter still hadn't returned, she decided to check the park where Momo often played and saw that she wasn't there. She asked the other children if they saw her and her worry only increased when they said they haven't seen Momo that afternoon.

Thinking of other places her daughter might have gone, she went around to check if her daughter was there, but she wasn't and Maiko was starting to panic. Quite some time had passed and the sun was starting to set. She didn't know where her daughter had gone and she didn't know where else to look for her. In her panic, she called Mizuki and told him what happened and after being calmed down by her husband, they decided to meet up back at the house.

She quickly hurried back to the house and hurried even more when she saw the car in the driveway. As she entered the house, she headed to the living room where she heard Mizuki's voice and relief quickly spread throughout her as she saw Momo sitting in the couch, looking sullen. But her relief was short-lived as her worry turned into anger and she scolded the girl.

Crying as she was being scolded, Momo told them where she had gone and both of them were surprised when they heard their daughter's explanation. She had gone to the main house ecause she wanted to see Momiji and that she didn't intend to spend so much time there. After everything was said and Momo had apologized and reflected on what she did, it was decided that Momo was grounded for a while and won't be allowed to leave the house unless they were going out.

Finishing the last of the utensils, she left them on the counter to dry and sat across from Momo. Massaging her temples, she let out a sigh. "Are you okay mommy?" Momo asked, staring worriedly at her. "I'm fine, Momo, just a little headache. Nothing to worry about." She reassured her daughter.

She had been having headaches for a few days now. It began as a dull throbbing pain that quickly went away after taking a short rest. But as the days passed, it became more painful and frequent. Mizuki was worried about her but she assured him that she was fine and probably just needed to rest. But today it seemed different though. The headache she's been having since this morning hadn't subsided even when she had taken a nap earlier and it seemed to have become worse.

"Mommy?"

Opening her eyes, she saw worried expression on Momo's face and forced out a smile "It's just a headache Momo. Eat your snack." she said and Momo, though worried, continued to eat the remaining pancakes and Maiko rested her head in her palm. She suddenly remembered the conversation she had with her daughter yesterday.

After her anger had dissipated and Momo had become calm enough and stopped crying, Maiko had asked Momo what she and Momiji talked about. By that time, only the two of them were at home. Mizuki had left earlier to return to his office to retrieve his belongings that he abruptly left as he received the call from Maiko.

Momo remained quiet at first, but then she slowly told Maiko about what she and Momiji talked about and she was taken by surprise when Momo told her about finally knowing about how she and Momiji were siblings.

Although, after hearing the rest of the story, it seems that Momiji didn't tell her everything. She only knew that they were siblings and nothing else. And somehow Maiko felt relieved that Momo didn't know everything. That Momo didn't know about the curse and her 'forgetting' Momiji.

"Mommy" Momo called and Maiko returned her attention to the girl. "Yes Momo?" she asked. "Why doesn't Momiji live with us? Why does he have to live in the main house?" she asked her mother, her curiosity clearly evident in her voice. "Well, that's. . ." Maiko fumbled about, unconsciously playing with a lock of hair as she thought of what to say.

How could she tell Momo? She might not understand yet. She's still too young and she didn't know if telling her the truth would affect her view of Momiji. And the truth itself seemed almost like it was taken out of fiction. But. . . she already knows about Momiji being her brother and she seem to really like him to the point that she would go and visit him without permission. Besides, she has a right to know, she is his younger sister after all.

Maiko continued to play with the lock of hair as she considered this. Momo was still young, she still didn't have the skepticism adults have towards almost anything in this world. If she explained to her and tried to make her understand. . .

Maiko let out a sigh. How could she do it though? When she herself still hasn't fully accepted the truth? To be told that the boy she only knew as a child of a far relative was actually her son, that she herself chose to forget. That was quite hard to believe in itself. And the fact that the reason for doing so was because of a curse, was even harder to believe and accept.

For her to explain something she can't even remember, she didn't know if telling her daughter right now would do anything to make their current situation better or worse. She hadn't even spoke to Momiji ever since the confession she told him back at the hospital a few days before.

Maiko groaned, closing her eyes as she lightly massaged her temples. All this thinking was making her headache worse. "Mommy, are you really okay?" Momo's worried voice rang in the room. "I. . .I think, I need to rest." Maiko admitted and noticed the empty plate and cup. "Ah, you're done already." She said and began to reach for the dishes.

Momo continued to stare worriedly at her. Noticing her daughter's distress, Maiko patted her on the head "I'll just put this in the sink and wash them later. I'll rest after this." She reassured her daughter and stood up and gathered the dishes. As she reached the counter, she felt a strong pang of pain in her head and she had barely managed to place the dishes on the counter before clutching her head and leaning in the counter for support.

"Mommy!" Momo ran over to her, her worry Increasing as she saw her mother in pain. "I-I'm. . .fine, Momo. . ." she said, trying to lessen her daughter's worry even though the pain was worsening and she leaned over the counter even more for support, waiting for it to subside.

After some time had passed, she feelt slightly better and she tried to stand straight, pushing herself up from the counter. But as she did, she didn't notice the cup that was placed over the edge of the counter and accidentally knocked it off. She tried to reach for it but it had fallen too fast and she could do nothing but watch as it crashed on the floor, breaking into little pieces.

Momo moved a couple of steps away on instinct and was now standing almost behind her mother. The cup shattered into many small pieces and was scattered all around but she was surprised when her mother didn't even do so much as flinch when the cup broke and scattered. Looking up, she could see her mother, eyes wide, staring at the shattered glass before her. ". . .Mommy?"

Maiko barely heard her daughter call for her. Her eyes fixated on the broken pieces of glass below near her feet. The sound of the cup breaking resounding loudly in her head. She didn't know why, but hearing it made her feel. . .different. As if the sound itself felt. . .familiar. An image of a boy flashed through her mind and she once again clutched her head in pain .

"_That creature is not my son!"_

"W-What. . ." Maiko mumbled weakly as the pain in her head intensified. That voice. . . it sounded so familiar. Her vision was starting to blur, and the pain wasn't subsiding. She closed her eyes, hoping that somehow, it would lessen the pain, but she quickly opened them as she heard a crash.

When she opened her eyes, she looked surprised. The room had changed. She was no longer in the kitchen and judging from the furniture, she was in a living room , one she couldn't remember. But it felt very familiar and . . . it was a mess. Another crash made her turn to the source instinctively but as soon as she did, everything became pitch black. And she once more heard the voice.

"_This is all your fault! I wouldn't be suffering like this if it wasn't for you!"_

Another crash, then a cry.

"_If only you weren't born!"_

" . . .What is. . .this. ." she weakly said, the pain wasn't subsiding at all. In fact, it felt like it was becoming worse. What's more, she didn't understand what she saw. That voice. . . She had never heard something so hateful, so despaired.

"_Mizuki!"_

She heard the voice again, but it wasn't filled with the hate and despair she felt earlier, and all of a sudden, she saw Mizuki standing underneath a large tree.

"_Mizuki!"_

_She was happily coming up to him. A bright smile on her face Which was returned by her husband._

"_What is it? You sound incredibly happy."_

"_Mizuki! I'm pregnant!"_

_She happily say to Mizuki and watched as a look of worry passed Mizuki's face before breaking into a smile._

"_That's great!"_

The scene suddenly shifted and she was suddenly in a park, talking with one of her friends, her hand placed over her big belly.

"_I heard from Mizuki that it's going to be a boy." _

"_That's right."_

"_So, have you decided on a name already?"_

"_Not yet, we can't seem to decide which name is better."_

"_Then, how about naming him after your favorite season?"_

"_You mean autumn? Hm. . . That would be nice."_

_She look off to the distance, thinking."Yes, it is a nice name. . ." she muttered to herself before a gentle smile fell on her lips._

"_. . .Momiji."_

She was still clutching her head, not understanding what was happening. She was seeing and saying things that she didn't remember having done so before. Were these her memories? Were these the memories she had erased? The scene changed again, faster this time and she heard a scream. This time, she was in a bed, surrounded by Mizuki and Hatori who looked at her worriedly. She was looking down at her trembling hands. A small rabbit lay on her lap.

" _. . .W-What is. . .this?" she asked shakily._

"_Maiko. . .that is our child. . . " Mizuki quietly told her and she looked up at him._

"_Our. . .child?" she looked once more at the small rabbit on her lap._

"_This is not my child. . .It can't be. This isn't my child! This isn't Momiji!"_

Maiko cried out and fell to her knees as the memories and emotions continued to flood her mind. She was too lost in the myriad of thoughts and emotions that she barely heard Momo's worried voice calling her. Familiar faces and voices continuously flashed through her mind and the pain she felt was becoming even more unbearable.

"_That creature is not my child!"_

"_He is one of the jyuunishi, possessed by the rabbit spirit."_

"_If only you weren't born!"_

"_I'm sorry I didn't tell you. . ."_

"_Do you really want to forget everything? You won't. . .regret it?"_

Everything was happening too fast and it was too much to take and Maiko fell to the floor. Her consciousness was slowly slipping away and she could hear the muffled voices of her daughter and Mizuki from behind. Memories still flooded her mind, but the pain was disappearing and everything was becoming dark. The last thing she could remember before finally giving in to unconsciousness were the cold, harsh words she said on that day.

"_The biggest regret of my entire life. . .is having given birth to that creature. . ."_

* * *

Author's notes:

I can't believe how long it took me to write this. I had chunks of this chapter stuck in my phone for days! (yes, I write in my phone when I can't use the laptop) Well, I'm finally glad I finished it. Oh, and if you find anything wrong, grammar, phrasing, tensing, please tell me. The laptop I used didn't have the spell check feature and I don't know where to find it so I checked everything on my own, but I'm not sure if everything's okay.

Also, the last two lines in the end that are italicized and the one line italicized in Momiji's scene are taken from the manga. I just didn't want to put marks in it.

And I have a very important thing to ask and I need your opinion! I really want to follow the manga and I noticed that Momiji mentions his parents differently, although I'm not sure it it was the way the chapters were translated, like how he mentions his mother when Tohru asked which of his parents were German, he said that it was his 'Mom', but when he tells her about his mother, he call Maiko 'Mother'. And I know I saw another chapter where he called her 'Mama' and I don't know which one to use! It's the same with Mizuki. Momiji calls him 'Father' and 'Dad' in two different chapters and frankly, I'm confused in what to use.

So know I'm asking for your opinion! What do you want Momiji to call his parents? I really need your opinion! I've been debating with myself for quite some time now and I can't decide which to use.

Well, with all of that said, I'll be waiting for your opinions and review.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes:

Again, sorry for the long wait! And I'm very sorry for those of you who got confused by the switch in scenes. I had planned it to be divided by a double spacing but it seems that the double spacing isn't showing like how it should and I didn't notice for a long time. Sorry about that. From now on, I'm using line breaks when changing scenes. 

* * *

Chapter 8 

Mizuki stood near the door of the bedroom as he watched Hatori perform a check up on Maiko. He had called the man earlier after he came home to find that Maiko had collapsed in the kitchen with Momo kneeling by her side, crying. He had instantly called Hatori telling him to come even though he didn't have a clue as to what happened.

It was only after Momo had calmed down that she was able to tell him everything and Mizuki felt more worried than before. He knew that Maiko had been experiencing headaches for a few days now and the one she had that morning seemed to be worse so far. That was why he came home earlier than usual so that he could check up on her.

"Daddy. . ."

Mizuki blinked, breaking his train of thought as he looked down at Momo who stood beside him, a worried look still on her face. "Is mommy going to be alright?" she quietly asked and Mizuki crouched in front of her so that they were almost on the same eye level. "She's going to be fine Momo. Don't worry." He patted her head gently and smiled a little, even if it was a bit strained, knowing that it would reassure her daughter and Momo gave a small nod "Okay." She said and turned her attention back to the bed where her mother laid.

Mizuki stood up again and watched Momo for a moment longer, glad that the girl was alright. She was literally panicking and crying when he arrived and it took some time for him to her calm down. Seeing Maiko suddenly collapse in front of her and not knowing what to do, she must have been really scared. Unconsciously, he reached out and patted the girl's head gently once more, causing Momo to look up at him in surprise "Daddy?" she blinked "It's nothing." He said as he remembered how Momo told him what happened.

It was hard to understand at first, since Momo kept stuttering and was speaking too fast. But when he finally understood everything, he was shocked. He didn't expect Momo to find out about Momiji nor did he expect Momiji to tell her the truth, at least not yet. And it seemed that Maiko already knew about this since they were talking about it before she collapsed.

When he first heard this, his mind erupted into a flurry of thoughts, coming up with jumbled possibilities and what if's. But among the many thoughts that filled his mind, one stood out the most. That Maiko's memories might have returned. And that one single thought was enough to throw him into a new set of thoughts and mixed feelings and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

It was only when Momo called out to him, looking worried once more that he realized he needed to calm down and think things through. So after he had laid Maiko on the bed and called Hatori, he made use of the time cleaning the mess in the kitchen to gather his thoughts.

But no matter what he did, the possibility of Maiko remembering still lingered in his mind and he told Hatori about it when he arrived and explained what happened. Hatori seemed baffled when he first heard what Mizuki thought, but he seemed to have taken it into consideration and he thought about it seriously. Although the man still haven't said anything about it as he continued to perform the check up on Maiko.

"Mizuki-san."

Hatori's voice broke him from his thoughts and he looked up to meet Hatori's gaze. "Are you done with the check up?" he asked and Hatori nodded "Yes." He paused "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Hatori asked, throwing a quick glance at Momo. Getting the message, mizuki turned to Momo "Momo, daddy has to talk to Hatori-san outside. Can you stay here and keep watch on mommy" he asked her gently. "Okay." Momo nodded and headed towards the chair beside the bed and sat.

Hatori was the first to leave the room, followed by mizuki who, as he passed through the door, pulled it lightly, leaving the door half open. They stood in the hallway, a few steps away from the bedroom. the air between them tense. "So," Mizuki spoke, breaking the silence between them "How is she?" he asked. Hatori remained silent for a few more seconds before answering. "She's fine now. Although her blood pressure is a bit higher than normal, but aside from that there's nothing wrong with her. She just needs to rest." Hatori explained and Mizuki felt a little relieved "I see."

"But I'm worried about what told me. About what happened before she collapsed."Hatori spoke again, turning to him. "You said she'd been having headaches?" he asked and Mizuki gave a small nod "Yes, she's had them for a few days now. Although she seemed to have it worse since this morning before I left." He said and Hatori seemed to consider this for a moment. "And according to what Momo said, she heard Maiko whisper Momiji's name before she collapsed." Mizuki added and looked worriedly at the other man.

"Hatori-san, do you think that she . . ." he drifted off and glanced towards the room where Maiko and Momo are. Hatori followed his gaze "I'm not sure myself if she has actually regained her memories of Momiji. I've never heard of anyone having done so, even from my father who also erased memories from previous patients."(1) He paused "But given what you said, it might be possible that she has." Hatori finished and Mizuki let out a small sigh "So, you're saying that it's possible that she remembers now?" "The only way we can make sure of that is when she wakes up." Hatori said and a short moment of silence fell between them.

"Should I . . . tell Momiji?" Hatori asked, looking directly at Momiji. Mizuki ran a hand through his hair ". . . No. Not yet. At least, not until we're sure that Maiko's memories have actually returned and . . ." He paused ". . . I will talk to Momiji myself. "Okay." Hatori replied and a short moment of silence fell.

"By the way," Mizuki spoke again, causing Hatori to look at him "does Momiji know why you're here?" he asked and Hatori shook his head "No. I know he'd be worried if I told him what happened so I said that something urgent came up and I had to leave." Hatori explained "Don't worry, Haru's with him when I left." He added when a look of worry flashed through Mizuki's eyes.

"I see." Mizuki said and glanced at the wall clock inside the bedroom before looking back at Hatori"Well, it's already late. You should probably go now. Momiji's waiting for you." he said and Hatori nodded "Alright. Please call me when she wakes up or if anything happens." He said and went back into the bedroom to collect his things. "I will." Mizuki said and he showed the man to the door.

After Hatori left their house, Mizuki walked back into the bedroom where he left Momo, who was now sitting in the chair he previously sat on and kept watching Maiko's still form on the bed. The door made a small creaking sound as he opened it wider and Momo looked turned to look at him.

"How's mommy?" she asked quietly and Mizuki walked towards her "She's going to be fine. Hatori-san said all she needs is rest." He told her, quietly pulling another chair and sat beside Momo. Silence once again filled the room and nothing could be heard but the ticking of the wall clock and the quiet, shuffling sounds whenever Momo would shift in her chair.

A few more seconds passed by before Momo spoke, breaking the silence "Daddy?" Mizuki tilted his head towards her "Hm?" "Momiji is my big brother, right?" she asked as she looked up at him. Mizuki stared at her sudden question ". . . That's right." He answered, he knew Momo would ask him about Momiji now that she knew they were siblings, but he didn't expect her to ask him so bluntly.

"Then why doesn't he live with us?" she asked again and Mizuki went silent as Momo continued speaking "When I asked Momiji, he said that there were circumstances before, that's why he had to live in the main house." she said. Mizuki ran a hand through his hair "Is that so . . . did you, also asked your mommy the same question?" he asked and received a nod from the girl. "What did she say?" he asked again. "Mommy didn't tell me why. I asked her earlier when I was eating my snack, but she didn't answer and then she . . ." Momo didn't finish and Mizuki understood why. Silence once again filled the room and both of them had fallen into their own thoughts.

"Do you want to know?"

Mizuki spoke quietly as he leaned in to the chair. He could feel Momo's gaze on him "Momo wants to know." She quietly said and he turned to look at her. He could see the curiosity and expectation from the girls eyes and for some reason, he felt defeated. It would take some time for him to explain everything to Momo but . . .

His gaze turned to the still, sleeping form of his wife on the bed. He doesn't know how Momo would react to the truth. But she needed to know about it. She was already aware of her relationship with Momiji even if no one told her and he guessed that it would only be a matter of time before Momo would find out the truth eventually.

Momo sat beside him, looking at him expectantly and he let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, since we're both waiting for mommy to wake up, I guess I'll tell you." He began "It's quite a long story though, and a bit complicated. Do you still want to hear?" he looked at his daughter who gave a quick nod.

"Okay." He muttered and he began to tell her the truth.

* * *

Haru was in the hallway when Hatori arrived. "Ah, you're back." Haru greeted him "Huh? Really?" he heard Momiji's voice, followed by footsteps and Mommiji emerged from the living room. "Hatori! Welcome back!" he greeted cheerily.

"I'm back." He said in return and was about to head to his clinic to put his things down when something colorful caught his eye. "Is that clay?" he asked, looking in the direction of the coffee table where colorful clay in various shapes and forms were placed.

"Yup! We were kinda getting bored waiting for you and we ran out of anything fun to do when Haru suggested it." Momiji happily explained as they went back to the living room. "Although it is quite hard to make shapes with just one hand; so the ones I made aren't quite right. . . " Momiji added, looking slightly embarrassed.

"This one looks just fine." Haru reached up and took a rabbit shaped clay and handed it to Momiji "yeah, but this is the only one that turned out well."Momiji said and both he and Haru fell into another conversation as to which one looks the best. Hatori looked down on the colorful clay on the table. They weren't exactly well shaped but at least he could tell what they were.

But he saw one in particular that he couldn't figure out. It looked like a blob of some sort that could barely stand on its uneven legs. He picked it up "Did you make this too?" he asked and handed it to Momiji who started to feel around the clay.

"It's mine."

Both Momiji and Hatori turned to Haru ". . . um, Haru, what is this supposed to be?" Momiji asked, feeling the clay over his hand. "It's a horse." Haru nonchalantly said and a short awkward silence fell between them. ". . . Okay, I guess we should probably clean this up now." Momiji said, suddenly changing the subject and both he and Haru began to pick up the clay and put it back in its container.

"By the way Hatori, you left so suddenly earlier. Did something happen?" Haru asked him and he noticed Momiji sent him a glance whilst continuing on putting the clay away. "I got a sudden call from a patient." He told them "Is it from the Sohma?" haru asked. A few months after the curse was broken, Hatori had started to accept other patients aside from being the family doctor.

"No." he lied. He didn't want to tell Momiji that it was his mother that he went to see. He didn't plan on telling him, even if Mizuki hadn't said anything about keeping quiet for a while. Momiji has a right to know what's happening to his mother. He knows that.

But right now, he didn't think Momiji could handle any more problems. He's already going through a lot with losing his sight and with Maiko, and now even Momo, knowing the truth; although it's only partial on Momo's case. He didn't want to add the possibility of Maiko remembering to those problems right now. Momiji's already having a hard time with everything.

He doesn't show it, hides it behind his cheerful smile and carefree actions, but sometimes he could see through it. he could see how sometimes Momiji's smiles would look strained, the way he acts when he's having a hard time adapting to the loss of his sight, to his inability to do things he could do before.

He knew that Momiji was trying his best to cope with everything that happened. But with so many things happening so fast, it doesn't take an expert to see that it's just too much to take all at once. That is must take a lot for Momiji to be able to continue doing what he was doing. And right now, he knew that if Momiji were to find out about what happened to his mother, he might give in. And he didn't want that. Not for Momiji.

"Hatori!"

Hatori blinked and looked up to see both Haru and Momiji looking at him "Is something wrong?" Momiji asked, his brow furrowing slightly in worry. "What?" he uttered "You weren't answering the question." Haru told him. Realizing that he had spaced out, he shook his head. "No. it's nothing." He said and noticed that they were done putting the clay away. "What were you saying?" he asked them.

"Oh, right. We were asking if we could have beef stew for dinner. Haru's staying over for dinner too." Momiji said, returning to his earlier question. Hatori glanced at his watch. It was almost seven in the evening. "That's okay." he said and stood up and headed to the kitchen. Haru and Momiji followed, a few steps behind him, falling into a new conversation.

As he started to prepare dinner, he couldn't help but wish that Maiko won't wake up yet. Even for just a little while so that Momiji won't have to face another problem.

* * *

The first coherent thought that entered her mind was that it was dark. It wasn't the kind of comforting darkness that was experienced before falling asleep. No. it was the kind of darkness were there was almost no source of light that would make it almost impossible to see anything in. Like how think, dark curtains were pulled over the windows on a night with a new moon.

She didn't like it.

She also didn't like the fact that it was so silent. There was nothing else she could hear but except for the quiet ticking of the clock on the far side of the wall. She could still feel the heaviness sleep brought in her eyes so she had been blinking her eyes a few times when she felt a slight shift of weight on the bed.

Turning her head, she could barely make out the form of a person sitting on a chair, arms and head resting on the edge of the bed. Despite the darkness, she recognized who it was. "Mizuki?" she called out, her voice softly breaking the still silence that descended the room.

The hunched form of her husband suddenly shifted again; as if being aroused from sleep, but didn't do anything aside from that. She called him again and this time, he lifted his head revealing a tired looking Mizuki. ". . . Maiko?" his voice was gruff and laden with sleep. A couple of seconds passed with both of them staring at each other before realization dawned on Mizuki as he suddenly sat upright. "Maiko!" he exclaimed, surprise evident in his voice. "I'm so glad you're awake." he said, feeling more awake "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"My headache's gone." She quietly said "That's good." Mizuki looked relieved. "What time is it? Where's Momo?" she asked. "Momo's already sleeping. She wanted to stay up longer and wait for you to wake up. But it was getting late so I put her to bed." He explained before glancing at his wristwatch "it's almost midnight." He said.

A few seconds passed and Maiko didn't respond. "Maiko?" he called out and Maiko turned to him again "Mizuki, why is it so dark?" she asked softly and mizuki blinked, suddenly realizing that it was, in fact, dark. He reached out to the bedside table where the lamp was and flicked the switch on. As soon as the lamp was turned on, Mizuki's gaze quickly diverted to maiko who was blinking, eyes adjusting to the bright light of the lamp.

"maiko" he called and maiko turned to look at him. "I want to know what exactly happened this afternoon." His eyes looking directly into hers "I came home earlier because I was worried about you, but when I arrived, you were unconscious." His tone became worried and quiet "What happened?" he asked and maiko remained silent.

Mizuki could see that she was thinking of a way to explain what happened. Although he already has somewhat of an idea as to what she was going to say from what he and Hatori talked about. But still, the silence was making him feel nervous somehow.

"I'm. . ." maiko started "I'm not exactly sure myself. My mind still feels like a jumbled mess but . . ." "Mizuki, I think I remember now . . ." she paused, her gaze still directed at him, the words continued to flow from her lips.

". . . about the curse . . . and about Momiji."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ugh, I don't know why but every time I have to write in Mizuki's POV I always take a long time. Seriously. Writing in Momiji or Maiko's POV is much more easier that writing Mizuki's but I can't not write in his POV since it's needed in the story.

(1) - I read somewhere in the cat book, where the character profiles are, that Hatori's skill for erasing memories is some kind of hypnotism he learned from his father.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! It's a bit shorter than the other chapters butI don't want to put too much in it(there'd be too many scene changes). Oh! Also, school's a week and a half away but I'll try to update before school starts 'coz I know once it starts I'm gonna be stuck with a load of papers and report to do . . . again.

Anyway, tell me what you think! Reviews are very much appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes:

Apologies for the long wait. I have been literally swamped with schoolwork ever since the school year began. (sigh) I never thought being in the last year of college could be this tiring. . .

Well, then, on with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 9

_His small hands slightly trembled as he held on to the hem of his shirt._

_A loud crash resounded through the entire house followed by angry voices muffled by the closed door that separated him from the two people most important to him. He stood by his father's desk rigidly, waiting for the heated argument of his parents to die down. _

_He didn't exactly know what caused his mother to be so angry this time. He had just passed by her room when she saw him and suddenly had another one of her emotional breakdowns. Luckily, his father had been there in time to get him out of the room, telling him to stay at the study before going back to subdue his mother. _

_The heated argument continued on and he remained rooted on his spot. He couldn't exactly hear what they were talking about. But he knew that it had something to do with him. It always did. It was always because of him that his parents often fought. There would always be something about him that deeply aggravated his mother and he knew he could do nothing to change the situation._

_He bit his lower lip as he heard another heated exchange of words from both his mother and father. He knew the reason why his mother treated him the way she did. He was one of the jyuunishi, one who bears the curse of the zodiac. His mother couldn't accept that. _

_She rejected him._

_Another loud crash suddenly brought him out of his thoughts, making him jump in surprise and his gaze quickly shifted to the door. Both of his parents were practically screaming at each other that even he can clearly hear the words._

_Tears were starting to form in the corner of his eyes. He didn't want his to happen. He just wants the fighting to stop. Why can't everything just stop? _

_As soon as he thought that, the shouting suddenly stopped, as if both of his parents heard his thoughts, and silence fell throughout the house. Surprised, he finally let go of the hem of his shirt, curiosity and worry overlapping at the sudden silence. _

_Was it over? Did they finally stop fighting? Was it okay for him to go outside?_

_A few minutes passed as he listened over the still silence. Blinking back unshed tears; he slowly walked towards the closed door, stopping a couple of steps away. Cautiously he reached for the door and opened it ever so slowly so as not to make any noise. _

_The first thing he noticed when he opened the door was that his parents were not done. Their voices had gradually become lower that he thought they had finished. He carefully pulled the door a little bit wider so that he now had clear view of the hallway, the door to his mother's room left half open. _

_He could hear his mother's sobbing voice and his father's worried, almost pleading, one, calling for her. Suddenly, he heard a loud thud on the floor followed by his father's frantic cry. A feeling of dread suddenly filled him and he opened the door, walking towards the room where his parents are. _

_His father's voice was becoming more panicked, desperate even, as he came closer and he could now hear that he was talking to someone else as he made fumbling sounds in the room._

"_. . . Dad?"_

_He called out quietly just as he was a few steps away from the door but his father didn't seem to hear him. "Dad?" he tried once more as he reached the door. He froze mid-step, just as he turned to face the open door, as he finally caught a glimpse of what was happening inside the room._

_His father was on his knees, frantically talking to someone on the phone looking distraught and on the brink of tears. But that wasn't what made his breath hitch. It was the sight of his mother, sprawled on the floor together with broken pieces of glass. Bright red blood continued to gush out from a gash in her right wrist, despite already being tied in a makeshift bandage._

_Her head was slightly turned in his direction and he let out a gasp at seeing her cold, glazed eyes turn to him. He instinctively took a step back and the sound seemed to finally bring his father out of his panicked state._

"_Momiji! Go back to the room!" he heard his father order him but he was too shocked to move._

" _. . .If only. . ."_

_The words came like a whisper, but it was enough to make both him and his father turn to his mother, still sprawled on the floor. _

"_. . . This wouldn't . . . happen. ." _

_She continued on, her breathing heavy from the loss of blood. _

"_If only you weren't born . . ."_

_His eyes widened at her words and tears once again flowed from her eyes as she let out a scream._

"_IF ONLY YOU WEREN'T BORN!"_

Momiji jerked awake, gasping for breath and went into momentary panic at seeing nothing but darkness before he remembered that he was now blind. He released a heavy sigh and plopped back down into his pillow realizing he had unconsciously propped himself up with his right arm in his panicked state.

"A dream. . ." he breathe out and closed his eyes. "No . . . a memory. . ." he corrected himself as he tried to calm himself down, feeling his heart beat loudly against his chest.

He didn't know why he suddenly dreamed about that incident. It had been so long ago that he had almost completely forgotten about it. So why did he suddenly dream about it? He opened his eyes, seeing the same darkness he had been seeing since he woke up after the accident.

The sight of blood flashed in his mind and he shook his head. If there was one thing he didn't want right no, it was the fact that he couldn't keep the image of his mother out of his head but it didn't do any good. The memory was, once again, fresh in his mind.

He ran a hand through his messy hair. He never did find out what really happened that day. All he knew was that his mother had gone hysterical after seeing him and she and his father began to argue.

The gash in her wrist, his father told him, was an accident. In her hysterical state, she had accidentally broken the vase she was holding and a large shard ended up piercing her wrist. Although, no matter how much his father told him that he wasn't at fault, he couldn't help but felt guilty. After all, they wouldn't have argued if it weren't for him. If only he hadn't been there that time. . .

He shook his head again and let out another sigh. He shouldn't think like that. It was all in the past. There was nothing he could do about it. What matters now is what he should be thinking about. "That's right . . . right now, mom is. . ." he whispered to himself as he recalled what happened yesterday.

_Flashback_

_Momiji was humming cheerfully as he left the kitchen. They had just finished having lunch and Hatori was busy washing the dishes. usually he'd help out but since his arm was still healing, he couldn't do much of the house chores._

_Reaching his room, he grabbed his ipod and sat back on his bed. But just as he was about to hit play, he jumped in surprise as his phone suddenly rang. Momiji blinked, wondering who it could be as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. _

"_Hello?" he answered._

"_Momiji."_

"_Dad!" he broke into a smile as he heard his father's voice. "What's up?" he asked curiously. His father usually didn't call him on the phone. Usually, he'd just come over and visit him personally as a surprise. He usually only called when he had to leave for a business trip or when he's really busy that he can't come over._

"_I just wanted to know how you're doing. I haven't been able to visit for a while . . . sorry." he said apologetically and Momiji blinked. "There's nothing to be sorry about dad. I'm fine!" he cheerfully tells him "And Hatori says that my arm's healing just fine. So don't worry." He reassured his father._

"_I'm glad to hear that." His father said and Momiji blinked once more. Something felt different with the way his father spoke. Or rather, with the way his voice sounded. He spoke just like he always did, but it sounded like it was tinged with worry._

"_Dad? Is something wrong?" he asked quietly and his father remained silent on the other end, it felt as if he was hesitating. _

"_. . . Actually, Momiji, " he began "there's something that I need to tell you." His voice became more serious and Momiji can't help but feel worried. "I. . . _ _wanted to there and tell you personally, but, at the moment, I can't leave." He further added._

_Momiji suddenly felt a sinking feeling overcome him as he heard his father's words and he swallowed. "What is it?" he asked, trying not to sound too worried and his father fell into another pause before he continued. _

"_Momiji. . . your mom, she. . . she finally remembers everything." He suddenly froze at hearing his father's words and his eyes widened._

"_. . .Wh-what?" He stuttered, shocked as his father's words sunk in. "She remembers, Momiji. . . everything." he heard his father sigh "Her memories have resurfaced. . . She remembers you." His father told him calmly and he unconsciously gripped the pillow he was holding on to. _

"_How?" was the only thing he could ask as his mind spun around with various thoughts. His father had explained to him what happened. The headaches, his mother collapsing and how she remembered everything. He tried to listen while calming himself down as he felt a mixture of emotions and fell silent._

"_Momiji?" his father called out, his tone, obviously worried. ". . . Dad" he began after spending a few more seconds in silence "What about Momo? Does she know too?" he asked, the words slowly leaving his lips._

"_Yes"_

_Came the short answer from his father and Momiji let out a small sigh. "She had been asking us why you don't live with us. Even if we don't tell her the real reason, she would have eventually found out." his father reasoned and Momiji silently agreed. Momo was a smart kid after all. She would have found some other means of finding out the truth later on._

_Momiji leaned back on the wall, sinking further into his bed. It's not that he didn't want to tell Momo. It's just, things were happening so fast and she had just found out about him being her brother. He didn't want to tell her everything else right away after that. He didn't want to rush things._

_He had wanted to take his time to explain everything to Momo one thing at a time. But given the situation, he understood why his father did that. Now that his mother's memories of him had returned, she might start acting differently and at least Momo would understand why._

"_. . .ji. . .Momiji. . "_

"_Huh?" He snapped back to reality as he heard his father's worried voice "Are you alright? I know everything's happening so suddenly, you must still be quite shocked. . . I'm sorry." His father's voice sounded tired._

"_Please don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." He said quietly and he heard his father sigh. "I know." His father said and a short moment of silence fell between them._

"_How's Momo?" he asked, breaking the silence and he heard his father clear his throat "Well, she seemed to be doing good. She remained silent most of the time I was explaining things to her. She only spoke when she asked about something she didn't understand" he explained. _

"_I see. . . and mom?" he asked again and this time his father paused for a few seconds before speaking again "She hasn't said anything else about you aside from her memories returning. I think she needs some time." his father said admittingly._

"_Is that so. . ." he leaned his head back onto the wall "Well, I guess that's expected." He said and his father made a sound of agreement on the other side. "Are you okay? I know this is hard for you." His father's worried voice broke the short silence that fell between them. _

"_. . . I'm okay, dad. Shocked, but I'm okay." He calmly told his father. It wasn't a lie. He was fine. Although he did feel a little tired from the sudden rush of emotions and thoughts that came when he heard the news._

"_Are you sure?" you know can always talk to me right? I'm always ready to listen, Momiji." His father said comfortingly, reassuring him, and a smile broke out on his face "Yeah, I know dad. Thanks." He gratefully said. _

_He then heard some shuffling sounds from the other end and his father's voice came back "Sorry Momiji, I have to go now. I'll call again later." His father said "It's okay. I know you're busy." He said. After hearing a short 'bye' his father hung u; leaving him to ponder about their conversation in the silence of his room._

_End Flashback_

After he had that conversation with his father, he spent the rest of the day in silent thinking. He didn't know whether he'd be happy or worried that his mother remembers him, or that Momo now knows the whole truth. He knew that he needed time to think about the recent happenings since so many things happened so fast and he felt too many emotions to actually react.

He knew Hatori had noticed his sudden change in mood and he was thankful for the space the older man gave him and took it as a chance to finally clear his mind.

He ran a hand through his messy hair before letting out an exasperated sigh. Well, that was what he had hoped to do. Despite all the thinking he had done he still felt confused. He had always wished that his mother still remembered him and he was really happy when his father told him that her memories of him returned.

But somehow, he can't help but feel uneasy knowing that either. He had realized; from the moment he heard the news from his father, that the next time he would see his mother; she would most likely act differently from him. And that fact scared him somehow.

Over the years that he had been watching his mother, she had been so happy and full of life. Even when she found out about him she still treated him the same way she did, caring and motherly. The thought of that disappearing, changing, into something else scared him.

"_IF ONLY YOU WEREN'T BORN!"_

The grip he had on his blanket tightened as his mother's anguished cry rang through his head once more as he tried to will the memory away. He stayed like that for some time, unmoving, gripping the blanket tightly as he tried to distract himself.

He didn't want to think about his mother for the time being. Not right now. He felt so tired just thinking about all the things that were happening that he just wanted to go back to sleep.

But no matter how much he tried to go back to sleep, he just can't stop thinking about what's going to happen next. He can't stop thinking about how his mother would react once she sees him again. And he definitely can't stop thinking that, no matter how much he convinced himself that everything was going to be fine, he can't help but feel scared at the thought that his mother would revert back into her old self.

And that scared him the most.

* * *

Dinner was silent as both Hatori and Momiji continued to eat. The sound of the cutlery and the occasional comment here and there about the food were the only things that kept the silence from being too long.

Hatori would occasionally glance at Momiji as he quietly ate. Momiji had been quite down ever since he got the call from his father yesterday; but now, he seemed more troubled. He still acts like he usually does, but there are times where instead of looking cheerful, it ended up looking strained, pained even, and he would often fall silent. Most likely in deep thought, he guessed.

He knew that Momiji needed some space and he was willing to give him that, he had already done so since yesterday. But it didn't seem to help. Even Tohru's visit earlier didn't help much in lightening his mood and Tohru came to him, worried as well.

He took a sip of his drink while he thought of what to do. Momiji had his own way of coping with things like this, he knew. It's just, Momiji always took everything on his own. He would talk to him about it sometimes, but usually he just keeps everything to himself and that worried Hatori even more.

It was obvious that what has been happening was greatly affecting Momiji. But the boy was keeping everything to himself. He had tried talking to him about it a few times but all Momiji woud say was that he was fine and that he shouldn't worry.

He looked up from his plate when he noticed the silence and suppressed another sigh. Momiji was, once again, seemingly lost in thought as he seemingly stared at his own plate. "Momiji," he called after making the blonde look up from his plate and blinked "Yeah?" "Are you alright?" He said.

Momiji blinked innocently at what he said "Huh?" he blinked once more, tilting his head slightly. "You stopped eating." He said. Momiji looked down again "Oh. Sorry. I've been kinda. . . preoccupied." he said quietly.

"I know. I'm just worried, Momiji." He told Momiji. "I'm fine. Don't worry, Hatori." Momiji tried to smile but it came out weak. Hatori pushed his plate away from him, having finished his food minutes ago. "I know. A lot's happened ever since you got out of the hospital and I know you're having a hard time dealing with things." He said calmly, watching Momiji for any reactions.

Momiji remained silent, his eyes looking at him, though not directly, before he cast them down on to the table. "I'm fine, Hatori." He said, his voice loud enough for him to hear.

He held back a sigh "I know. But if there's anything I do to help Momiji, just tell me." He told the boy "I'm here to listen." He added and he saw something flicker in Momiji's eyes for a second before a small smile graced his lips "I know Hatori. Thanks."

A moment of silence fell as they both got lost in their own thoughts. "Well," he began "since we're both done, I suppose we should clean this up." He said as he started to get the dishes into the sink. He had already gotten his message across – that he wanted to help Momiji any way he can – now all he could do was to wait for Momiji to decide whether to talk to him or not.

Of course, if Momiji didn't want to, he wouldn't force the boy. He just really wanted to help. After all, Momiji was like a younger brother to him.

Momiji helped him carry the smaller plates using his free hand. Although hatori told him it was okay not to, he insisted, saying that he could do that much at least and that he really wanted to help.

In the end though, he was still the one who was washing everything. Momiji kept him company, sitting on one of the chairs he pulled from the table into the counter.

Silence once again filled the room, but it wasn't as tense as it was during dinner. Momiji had fallen silent once again after they had finished talking about some random things.

After a few more minutes had passed, it was Momiji who decided to break the silence. "Hatori" he called. "Hm?" he took a glance at the blonde before returning his gaze to the plate he was currently washing. "What is it?"

Momiji didn't answer right away and he was about to ask if something was wrong when the boy finally spoke. ". . . you said. . . you'd listen to what I have to say, right?" hatori turned to him as he fnished washing the plate.

"yes." He answered, wondering what the boy would say. "You also said that you wanted to help, right?" Momiji added and Hatori wondered where this was leading. He somehow had a bad feeling about this, but he answered anyway. "Yes, that's what I said."

Momiji seemed to consider what he said as he fell silent once more, looking as if he was torn about telling him or not.

After what seemed like minutes, Momiji looked back up at him "Can I ask you a hypothetical question?" Hatori raised a brow. He didn't expect that. "Okay. But why a hypothetical question though?" He asked back.

"Well, I just. . ." Momiji turned away ". . . I just want to know something." He answered and Hatori became more curious as to what Momiji wanted to ask him.

"Hatori . . ."

He saw something flicker in Momiji's eyes once again but it went too fast that he couldn't recognize it.

". . . If I ask you to erase my mother's memories . . . would you do it?"

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yes, once again, another cliffhanger. I seriously don't know why most of my chapters end up in having cliffhangers. I just realize it when the chapter's done. This chapter was actually supposed to be longer but the scene following the last scene wasn't turning out so good so I tought I'd just divide it into two and fix that one first. Though I don't know when I'd be able to write again since I am still swamped with schoolwork and my motivation is. . . somewhat lacking. . . like I have ideas and plot and everything in my mind but I just can't write it. This has been happening for quite a while now which is why this chapter may not be as good as the previous ones (maybe, I'm not sure). But rest assured I'll still continue writing, I just need to get an extra boost of motivation! ^^

On another note, I wanna explain about the dream Momiji had about Maiko. Well, the idea for this came when I was re-reading the chapter(manga) where Momiji was telling Tohru about his mother and I noticed on one of the panels that Maiko's right hand was bandaged-like and I got curious and checked the anime and it was there as well and. . . well, this idea popped out. Once again, I added more drama.

Anyway, that's all for now. Tell me what you think and review ok?


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes:

I actually had this done around a week and a half ago but i was too busy and tired the past weeks that I always forget to update.

* * *

Chapter 10

The plate almost slipped from his hand as Hatori stared at Momiji thinking if he heard right. ". . . What did you say?" he asked, bewildered as the words sunk in.

Momiji didn't seem to be surprised at his reaction and instead repeated what he said "I said, if I asked you to erase mother's memories, would you do it?"

"Momiji-"

"Would you?"

Hatori was lost for words. He was expecting Momiji to say something about his mother, yes. But not something like this. He didn't know why the boy would say such a thing; he thought Momiji would be happy once Maiko's memories returned.

He didn't understand what made Momiji think like this or even ask him to do such a thing. He didn't even know if he could answer the question.

He didn't know why Momiji would say something like that. He thought Momiji wanted his mother to remember him, he knew it. But now that she did, he wanted to do the opposite? It just didn't make any sense to him.

Did Mizuki tell him something that made him this way? But surely he wouldn't do such a thing. Even if he was the one who approved of erasing Maiko's memories in the first place. and he hasn't gotten a call from Mizuki about any drastic changes from Maiko, aside from Mizuki telling him that she neeed some time to sort out her thoughts and memories.

So what was it?

Seconds turned to minutes before Momiji decided to save Hatori from his inner thoughts. "It's just a hypothetical question Hatori." His voice came out quietly, almost apologetically at having said something like that and Hatori, realizing that the faucet was still on, turned it off before drying his hands and completely facing Momiji.

"You know what my answer is."

He quietly said and a Momiji blinked before a look of realization and guilt passed his face "Sorry. I knew you never wanted to erase people's memories ever again after . . . Kana." He apologized as he lowered his head.

Hatori let out a sigh. He definitely didn't expect this conversation to turn in that direction. It wasn't even about him erasing memories, it was about Momiji. Although he did want to keep his word that he would never use that ability ever again. But that wasn't important right now.

"Why are you suddenly saying this? What's wrong?" he asked before adding softly "Aren't you happy that your mother remembers you?" Momiji lowered his head even more so that his bangs covered his eyes.

"I'm . . . not sure."

Hatori blinked; perplexed at the quiet, almost barely audible response he got from Momiji. "What do you mean?" he asked, concern lacing his words "I thought you never wanted your mother to forget you. It was your wish, wasn't it?" he asked as he came closer to the boy.

". . . it is. It still is." Momiji said, his voice slightly louder than before.

"Then why?" Hatori asked. He couldn't understand what was going through Momiji's head. If he truly wished that he wasn't forgotten by his mother, then why would he ask him to erase her memories; albeit hypothetically?

"I don't know. . . I just. . ." his hand curled into a fist "I feel so confused Hatori. . ." he lifted his head up towards him and confused, unseeing eyes bore into him. "I don't know what to do. . ." his voice was barely a whisper.

A short, tense filled silence fell on the room. "You know," Momiji started quietly "before any of this had happened, I told Tohru my wish." His voice was more steady now "I told her that deep inside I never really wanted mother to forget me. Because I didn't believe that there's a memory that's okay to forget" he said the last part softly.

"I still believe that, even now." A small smile came to his face as he remembered the warm comforting feeling he felt when Tohru cried and embraced him, eeling the same thing. "And I'm happy that mom actually remembers me. I'm happy, really, but. . ." his smile disappeared as his voice drifted off.

"I just. . . I can't help but think that when mom remembers me, she would turn back into how she was. That she'll become angry or depressed or even sick. . ." His voice was staring to tremble and Hatori was starting to understand the reason why Momiji asked him that question.

"Momiji. . ." Hatori wanted to say something, anything, just to comfort Momiji and tell him that won't happen again. But he couldn't. He wasn't sure how Maiko would react now that her memories have returned.

Another moment of silent passed as Momiji swallowed hard and spoke "What if she rejects me Hatori? What if she and dad end up fighting again? What if Momo gets involved? I wouldn't know what to do!" Momiji rambled on and his voice was rising with each word he said.

"What if she gets hurt again? Just like last time. What if she gets hurt because of me? I-I don't know what I'll do if that happens again Hatori, I. . ." his voice cracked as he spoke those last words and Hatori didn't understand what he was saying. "Momiji calm down. I don't understand what you mean. Why would Maiko get hurt because of you?"

He tried to figure out what Momiji was saying. Maiko getting hurt? He didn't understand. Sure, Maiko was depressed to the point of sickness, but getting hurt . . . like last time? Hatori's eyes widened as he suddenly understood what Momiji meant. There was that one time that Maiko got her hand injured during one of her arguments with Mizuki. . . and Momiji was there to see it.

Oh.

Hatori mentally slapped himself. How could he forget about that? He was the one who treated Maiko after Mizuki had called him over and told him what happened. He even remembered how Mizuki had to constantly reassure Momiji that everything will be fine and that no one was at fault.

"Momiji , that wasn't your fault." He placed both of his hands on Momiji's shoulders, gaining the boy's attention. "Was that the reason why you asked me if I would erase her memories? Maiko accidentally broke the vase. It wasn't your fault." He said once more but Momiji shook his head.

"That's not true."

"Yes it is." Hatori told him "Mizuki told you what happened didn't he? You know you had nothing to do with what happened. You didn't hurt her. " He reasoned. "She refused Mizuki's attempts to help her with the injury. That was why she collapsed. Why do you still keep blaming yourself?" he asked and Momiji looked up towards him, his eyes meeting his.

"They were fighting because of me."

Hatori fell silent as he heard Momiji's words. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't deny that. It was true. He had, after all, seen Momiji's parents arguing several times and it sometimes even scared him at how much hatred a mother could have.

He knew that such events were hard to forget, especially when experienced at a young age. He had seen similar cases with Yuki and Kyo. Although their own experiences were different in their own way, they had all experienced a traumatizing and painful event at such a young age.

He had been foolish to think that Momiji had moved on as the years passed. He had become accustomed to Momiji's bubbly, carefree attitude that he would often forget that Momiji was also suffering just like him and the other jyuunishi.

Silently berating himself, he thought of how he could make Momiji realize that despite what he said, it wasn't his fault. After all, when that happened, Momiji was still too young and had little control over the whole situation. He had to make Momiji see that. He had to make Momiji realize that he shouldn't blame everything that was happening to his family on himself.

Hatori stared back at Momiji and he couldn't help but feel bad for the boy. Momiji looked downright miserable. He lightly placed his hands on Momiji's shoulders, making Momiji look back up at him.

"Momiji" he began quietly "It may be true that your parents fought because of you, I can't deny that; and you may think it's your fault that they were fighting. But you have to believe me when I say that it's not your fault." He softly said.

"Hatori. . ."

"You don't have control over these things Momiji. There are just some things in life that you can't control. You didn't want your parents to fight, and although you do whatever you can to avoid it from happening, you can't always have control of the whole situation, especially back then since you were still too young." Hatori explained to him.

Momiji remained silent and hatori took that chance to continue. "You shouldn't take blame for everything that's happened between your parents. Don't take all the blame."

A moment of silence passed between them and Momiji looked uncertain as he let Hatori's words sink in. He still blames himself for what happened to his mother; that was something he didn't think he would be able to change. But . . . Hatori's words also made sense.

He had no control over what his parents would do in that kind of situation. In fact, all he could do back then was stay away from his mother as much as possible when she was in a bad mood just to avoid getting into trouble and even then he still had problems.

But . . . they wouldn't have fought in the first place if it wasn't for him. Then again, Hatori said that he couldn't have done anything about it. Besides, he's done all he could to prevent them from arguing . . . right? He did his best. That was enough, right?

Momiji blinked as he suddenly felt his eyes starting to water. He kept his head down so as to prevent Hatori from seeing his eyes. He already knew the answer to that question.

"Momiji?"

He tilted his head in Hatori's direction as he heard his name being called "Are you okay?" Hatori asked, concerned. He thought about the question. "Yeah, I'm okay now, Hatori." He said. "Are you sure?" Hatori asked and he gave a small nod "Yeah, I. . ." he paused "I understand what you mean Hatori, and I know you're worried. Sorry, and thanks." A small genuine smile crept up his face as he said the last words.

Hatori smiled in return, relieved that Momiji was better. "You know I'm always here to listen." He said as he ruffled Momiji's hair then took a glance on his watch "It's getting late. You should go up and rest, your arm's still healing." He said.

"Okay. Goodnight Hatori." Momiji said as he stood up and headed towards the doorway that led to the hallway.

"Goodnight." He said in return and waited until Momiji had gone into his room before he let out a sigh as he returned to washing the plates left on the sink. His mind was still running through Momiji's words.

He had managed to pull Momiji out of his depressed state, but he knew the boy was still troubled about the whole situation. He was still worried for him and he was willing to do anything to help. But he can only do so much.

He finally turned the faucet off as he finished washing the plates and grabbed the wash cloth to dry the plates. After finishing that, he returned everything in the cupboard and cabinets and he tidied up the kitchen before he headed to his clinic where the telephone was.

He needed to talk to Mizuki. 

* * *

Author's Notes:

The first thing that popped into my mind when i finished writing this was '. . .i think I made Hatori give a father-speech XD' Seriously.

This one's a bit short (5 pages). There was supposed to be another scene after this but I thought it would be better to put it in the next chapter.

I also want to ask you guys if Momiji and, especially Hatori, are in character. I don't really know if I'm writing them right when it's in such a serois, angsty scene and I want to keep them in character as much as I can. i'm actually having more problems in keeping Hatori in character since his character never really sunk in to me, sans his scene in chapter 2, and I wanna know what you think.

Once again, I don't know when i'll be able to update again. Preliminary exams are in a couple of days and i still have so much to do I feel so drained everyday. -.-'

Anyway, review and tell me what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note:

I'M AAAAAAAAALIVE! I am so sorry for not updating for more than a month! I've been so busy after my preliminary exams finished that I didn't have the time to write since hell month (September) came rolling around. I was only able to start writing a week before my final exams started and then i was cut short by exams. Don't worry though! I'll be able to update faster now since it's the sembreak and I've only got our thesis (it's a group thesis) to finish up and then I'll be free! XD

On with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 11 

Maiko suppressed another sigh as she tried to keep her focus on the book she was currently reading. Sitting in the floor of the living room, Momo kept sending curious glances at her while pretending she was still watching one of her favorite shows on the TV.

The first time she noticed her daughter glancing at her, with Momo trying to make sure that she wouldn't be noticed as she tried to glance as subtle as she could, and failing, before returning to her attention to the TV, she thought it was cute and tried to hide the smile that threatened to get out as she feigned ignorance. But the more she tried to act like she wasn't noticing anything, the more Momo kept glancing at her. And it was becoming more obvious and frequent that it was starting to make her feel a little uncomfortable.

She knew that the girl wanted to talk to her about something. It had become a habit of Momo's, one she wasn't sure if her daughter was aware of, that she would do whenever she had something on her mind and couldn't decide whether she would ask her or not. Of course she would notice it right away when Momo would start and she would usually wait it out, watching her daughter amusedly from the corner of her eye as Momo debated with herself, before Momo would come to her to talk about it herself. Sometimes she would ask the girl about it to save her daughter from anymore stress.

This time though, Momo wasn't coming to her to talk about what was in her mind and although she did want to ask her daughter what it was that was keeping her from watching her favorite show, for some reason, she didn't want to ask. Something was telling her that whatever it was that Momo wanted to ask or talk about, it had something to do with Momiji.

It wasn't like she was avoiding the topic by waiting for Momo to come to her herself or anything like that . . . She blinked as she thought about it. Okay, maybe she was. But she just didn't want to talk about it right now.

Letting out a small sigh, she looked up once more only to see Momo looking straight at her. Momo almost jumped in surprise before turning back to the TV and was trying not to act so surprised at being caught staring at her.

Stifling a chuckle at the sudden behavior of her daughter, she decided that it was enough waiting as she closed the book and placed it on the side table to her right before returning her attention to her daughter.

"Momo." She called.

She watched as the girl stopped and slowly turned to look at her. A light shade of pink could be seen on her cheeks, an indication that she was embarrassed at being caught. She couldn't help but let out a small smile as she patted the space next to her and waited as Momo walked over and sat beside her.

"What's wrong Momo? You've been staring at me again." She gently asked as she looked at her daughter. "um . . ." Momo fidgeted with the ribbon of her dress as she slowly looked up to meet her gaze.

"What is it?" she asked, encouraging her daughter to continue, wondering what she would say. "Are you okay mommy?" she asked. Maiko blinked before understanding where the question would lead. "Yes Momo, I'm fine." She said and Momo leaned in to her "You won't. . . collapse again?" Momo quietly asked and Maiko looked at her, a look of understanding on her face.

"No, I won't Momo." She placed a hand on her daughters head "I'm sorry I worried you." she said and kissed Momo's head. She knew that her sudden collapsed really scared Momo. And that from what Mizuki told her, Momo didn't leave her side until it was time for her to sleep. She also remembered how Momo kept on following her for the whole day after she woke up and it was only when she reassured her daughter that she was fine that Momo stopped. "I'm alright now. No more collapsing." She said and she ran her hands through Momo's hair, letting the small girl lean on her.

A short moment of silence passed as they stayed like that before Momo let out a yawn. "Want to take a nap?" she asked and Momo responded by giving a small nod before lying her head on her lap. "Hey" she let out a chuckle as Momo completely made herself comfortable, lying on her side.

Seeing as she had no choice at the moment, she also made herself comfortable, reclining a little on the sofa before she continued to gently run her hands through Momo's hair, lulling her to sleep even more. They continued like that for a while with nothing but the mild breeze coming from a nearby window to keep them company. After a couple more minutes passed, she thought Momo had fallen asleep when a small quiet voice broke the silence.

"Are you and daddy fighting?"

She stopped her hand mid air just as she was about to run it through Momo's hair and blinked. Her and Mizuki? Fighting? She suddenly looked down on her lap and saw Momo, her head slightly tilted to look at her. "Me and daddy?" she let the question escape her lips and Momo blinked and nodded. "Why would you say that?" She asked and wondered what made Momo think like this. Momo seemed to look a bit uncertain as she looked in another direction, trying to avoid her gaze.

"But. . . you and daddy haven't talked for some time now. You only talk to each other when you're asking for something or when you're leaving the house." Momo explained, facing her, a worried look on her face. Maiko blinked at the words Momo said before understanding why her daughter seemed to be on the edge.

"No Momo, we aren't fighting." She answered gently, once again running her hand through Momo's hair, trying to reassure her little girl. Momo blinked once more, a look of uncertainty in her eyes ". . .Then, why are you avoiding daddy?" she quietly asked and for a moment and Maiko inwardly sighed. Ever since her memories came back, she and Mizuki hadn't been able to have a decent conversation, especially when it came to Momiji. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about it, but her memories from before and her memories now felt like it was all jumbled up and she wanted some time alone for her to be able to put things together. When she told Mizuki, he understood. That was why they would often end up staying in the same room without talking to each other, sometimes to the point that it would become awkward. Momo must've been worried by this and thought they were fighting.

She let out a small sigh "We aren't fighting Momo. It's just. . . I'm feeling a bit confused right now." She gently told Momo. "Confused?" Momo blinked. "Yes." She answered as she looked out the window to stare at the garden while continuing to run her fingers through Momo's hair. Despite being asked questions by her daughter about regaining her memories, she somehow felt more comfortable in answering them, unlike when she and Mizuki were talking.

Momo remained silent for a good minute, seemingly thinking, before she once again turned to look at her "Is it because of Momiji?" she quietly asked and once more, Maiko was taken aback at the bluntness of the question.

Masking her surprise at the question, she gave a small nod "Yeah." she admitted.

When she first found out the truth about Momiji, so many questions were running through her head. What was she like before? How did she cope with the curse of the Sohma family? How did she treat Momiji? Did she really suffer so much that she broke down to the point that erasing her memories was the only way to cure her? Were all the things Mizuki told her really true?

When her memory returned, all of her questions were answered. Everything was given an explanation. Every single doubt she had about Momiji disappeared. But, instead of feeling better, instead of feeling relieved that nothing was a lie, she felt even more confused. Her memories of when she knew Momiji as her son and her memories of Momiji as the cheerful boy from the Sohma clan were clashing but at the same time placed everything into place; filling the void left from her supposed 'memory loss' caused by her 'illness.'

It was like despite having her memories back, she felt like she was divided into the Maiko that was Momiji's mother and the Maiko who merely knew Momiji as that boy from the Sohma clan; and that the feelings brought by the two different memories were extremes opposites. One felt fear, anger and despair on one side while worry, love and care on the other and she didn't know which to feel. It was tearing her inside. She had never felt this torn before, never so conflicted. And she didn't know what to do.

"Do you. . . hate Momiji now?"

The question surprised Maiko out of her reverie and she saw Momo looking at her cautiously. "Why. . ." she began ". . .Why do you ask that, Momo?" she quietly asked her daughter back and Momo fidgeted on her sleeve. "Because. . . daddy said that before you forgot Momiji, you didn't like him. . .and now you remember him again." Momo said slowly, quietly and Maiko's hand slows to a halt.

Noticing the sudden halt in movements, Momo looked back up at her "Mommy?" she asked, her voice having a tinge of apology thinking that the question was too personal.

". . .I don't know."

"Eh?" Momo blinked as Maiko's hand began to move again. "I don't know Momo." Maiko repeated. "I don't know if I hate him or not, so I can't answer that yet." She returned her gaze back to the window.

With the return of her memories also came the feelings and thoughts she had towards him and most of it leaned more on the negative than the positive which was why she felt so confused. Because the Maiko that knew Momiji before she recovered her memories loved and adored the boy while the Maiko that she forgot hated and despised him.

Letting out a small sigh, Maiko hoped that Momo would feel satisfied enough with her answers and just go to sleep. The girl was obviously sleepy, and she didn't know if she could answer anymore of her innocently blunt questions. Besides, even if she wanted to answer her daughter's questions, she didn't even know how.

There were still a lot of things she wasn't sure of; after all, she had only regained her memories a few days ago and there were still so many things running through her mind. Most of it involved or was related to Momiji on one way or another and that was what troubled her the most.

Thankfully, Momo seemed to sense her discomfort and remained silent, focusing on the feel of her mother's fingers gently running through her hair and the cool breeze that came from the window. It wasn't long after that she felt her eyes drooping slowly and although she still wanted to stay awake and keep her mommy company, she couldn't help but close her eyes and fall to sleep. 

* * *

It was mid afternoon when Mizuki arrived at the Soham estate. He received a call from Hatori last night telling him of what happened and suffice to say he was really worried. He knew how strong Momiji could be, how he could overcome his own pain and fears on his own even when he reminded the boy every now and then that he was always there to support him.

For Momiji to break down last night, according to what Hatori told him, was enough to show how much he had been keeping everything to himself and that made him worry more. And what's more, he felt even worse for not being there for his son. Again.

He let out a sigh as he arrived at the front door of Hatori's house, taking a moment to clear his mind of any of his previous thoughts before bringing a hand up to ring the door bell. A few seconds passed before he heard light footsteps and the door quietly slid open revealing Hatori.

"Mizuki-san." Hatori greeted before moving to his side, allowing Mizuki to enter. "How is he?" he asked as soon as he entered the house. "He's much better than yesterday, although he still seems to be troubled." Hatori said as he placed an extra pair of slippers out for Mizuki who uttered small thanks. "I see." Mizuki looked towards the hallway. "He's in the living room, practicing his Braille." Hatori told him and Mizuki nodded his thanks before he headed towards the living room.

Reaching the doorway, he peered in to see Momiji sitting on the floor, pieces of Braille-dotted paper scattered in the coffee table front of him. A serious look was plastered on his face as his right hand slowly hovered over the dotted lines. Mizuki quietly took a few more steps into the living room.

As if sensing his entrance, Momiji blinked, his hand stopping and looked in the direction where Mizuki was. "Hatori? Who was at the door?" he blinked once more, tilting his head lightly to the side.

"Momiji." He called and Momiji's eyes widened for a second before a small smile crept up his face "Dad!" he said cheerfully. Mizuki smiled at his son and he started to make his way onto the sofa behind Momiji. "How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit you for a while now." He said as he sat on the sofa, lightly ruffling Momiji's hair.

"I'm fine. It's okay. I know you're busy. " Momiji gave a light laugh as he also sat on the sofa beside him. Mizuki's smile faltered as he heard his son's response but he didn't let it show as he spoke "So, how's your studying doing? You can read braille now?" he asked lightly as he took a few pieces of reading material from the table and stared at the dots. Momiji nodded "A little. Hatori's helping me learn and memorize new words each day. According to him, it won't be long before I can read a simple sentence." He happily said.

"That's good to hear." Mizuki said smiling once more. A moment of silence passed between them and for a second, Mizuki actually felt a little awkward at the sudden silence. He knew that Momiji knew why he was here. But it seemed that Momiji didn't want to talk about it or maybe, he just didn't want to start.

"Oh, by the way," Momiji suddenly spoke, breaking the silence and making Mizuki turn to him suddenly "Hatori said that we're going back to the hospital to have another check up on my arm and that if everything goes well, then I'll have my cast removed!" Mizuki smiled "That's good news then, if your cast gets taken off, then you'd be able to play the violin again." he said and Momiji smiled even more "Yeah, and I'd be able to do things more properly." Momiji added as he leaned back into the sofa.

Mizuki returned the reading materials he was holding onto the table before turning to take a good look at his son. Despite the small smile that graced his lips, there was something in his eyes that told Mizuki that Momiji was still not well. Momiji blinked at the sudden silence "Dad?"

"Are you okay Momiji?"

Momiji blinked once more when he heard the question "Eh?" Mizuki shifted in his seat so that he was could look at Momiji better "Are you okay?" he asked once more, his voice more serious than before and now had a tinge of worry as well.

Momiji straightened up at the question and gave another smile "I'm fine dad, I just said it earlier didn't I?" he said and Mizuki's eyes softened. "Hatori called me last night. I know what happened, Momiji." His voice took a gentler tone as he said those words and Momiji's smile slowly faltered and fell into a thin line.

"Hatori told me that you've been bothered by your mother's memories resurfacing and that . . . you asked him to erase her memories" Mizuki said, watching Momiji for any reactions. "It was only hypothetical." Momiji told him, his voice quiet "And I only asked him if he would do it if I asked him to. I never said that I wanted to." He turned his head towards Mizuki "I didn't mean it, I was just. . ." Momiji turned to look in front of him but Mizuki could see the tiny spark of uncertainty in his eyes.

"You're afraid aren't you?"

Momiji turned his head back towards Mizuki when he heard those words. Mizuki stared back at him, his gaze softened at his son's reaction. "You're afraid that when Maiko remembers, she'd treat you like how she did before again." He said quietly "Is that why you asked Hatori to erase her memories?"

Momiji remained silent. His head bent low so that his eyes couldn't be seen. The silence made Mizuki nervous and he ran a hand through his hair, not sure of what to do. Maybe he should have brought the subject in a more subtle way? But he didn't know how else to confront his son when it came to things like this.

He knew Momiji tended to hide his own feelings when he felt it would help reassure others that he was fine. Not because he didn't want to be secretive but because he didn't want others to worry about him. He cared so much about the people around him that he didn't want to share his pain with them because he didn't want to burden them.

Even Mizuki was treated the same way, which made him feel even worse since Momiji's his son. He was supposed to be the one person that Momiji could at least confide in because he was his father and to know that Momiji couldn't even do that was painful.

"You know," Mizuki looked up when he suddenly heard Momiji speak, not noticing that he had lowered his head while he was thinking, and turned to his son "when you asked me back then if it was okay with me to erase mom's memories of me, I didn't really agree." He paused "I. . . actually didn't want mom to forget me." He said.

"Momiji. . ." Mizuki looked at him and Momiji, slowly turned to looked back and it was only then that he noticed that tears were starting to well up around Momiji's eyes "The main reason why I agreed was because I thought that, if mom forgot me, she'd be able to be healthy again, that she'd be able to smile once more and that you wouldn't fight anymore. . ."

Mizuki remained silent and Momiji took this chance to continue "I just thought that I won't see dad's tired, frustrated face and mom's crying face anymore. Because seeing you guys like that makes if more painful to live together than to live apart." Momiji turned his face away so that Mizuki couldn't see his expression.

". . . And, I guess I am scared." Momiji admitted, his voice a little shaky. "I'm scared that when mom remembers me, those days would come back. That she'd be sad again, that you two might begin to fight again. That she might get hurt again." Momiji turned back to him, a small sad smile on his face "I don't want that."

Mizuki stared at his son. His mind turning around with everything that Momiji said. The reason why Momiji agreed all those years ago wasn't only because of Maiko, but also because of him. That even at such a young age, Momiji was already fully aware of his situation and that he already understood. That he'd rather be separated from his family than to lose them by living together. Mizuki shook his head. How could his son be so kind and so understanding as to allow such things to happen? How could he still smile through all the pain he endured alone?

Lost in the honesty and pain-filled words, Mizuki could only wrap his arms around his son, pulling the boy into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry."

Momiji"s eyes widened at the sudden gesture " . . .Dad?" Mizuki kept his arms wrapped around him "I'm so sorry, Momiji." He said once more "All this time . . . all this time you've been suffering, enduring everything on your own while I left you so that I can live my life outside."

"Dad. . ." Momiji lifted his right arm to return the embrace.

"You wouldn't be in this kind of situation if it weren't for me." Momiji stared at him "What do you mean?" he asked quietly and Mizuki took a long breath "If I. . ." he began "If I hadn't asked you about erasing your mother's memories, about erasing your very existence from your mother's life, leaving you behind here and letting you suffer all alone, you wouldn't be going through any of this." He continued, letting out a shaky breath.

" . . . Dad, you're not selfish." Momiji uttered. "No" Mizuki shook his head "I . . . was selfish, Momiji. I was selfish enough to ask you about erasing you from Maiko's memories, because I knew you'd agree. I was selfish enough to keep you away so that I could live with Maiko and Momo peacefully while you could only watch from afar."

"I am the one responsible for all the pain that you're going through."

He loosened his embrace on Momiji, lowering his head "I'm so sorry Momiji." His voice was so quiet that it almost seemed like a whisper "Even now when you've lost your sight and hurt, even when you're confused and breaking down, I still couldn't stay by your side. I've failed as a father. Forgive me"

Momiji stared at Mizuki, letting everything sink in to him. He had never heard his father sound so dejected before; so ashamed. It was true that he felt sad and hurt about what his father did, about having his mother's memories of him erased and having to keep away from his family. And it was also true that he knew that the main reason why his father didn't want him to be seen by his mother and sister was because it could disrupt the peace he had found. But. . .

"That's not true."

Mizuki looked up at his son's words. Momiji stared at him through unseeing brown eyes, his gaze softening "That's not true." he said again. "You say that you're selfish, that you had mom's memories erased because you wanted to live a peaceful, happy life. But it was because of that that mom's still alive." He said, letting the words flow slowly as a tear manage to trickle down his face.

"Momiji. . ." Mizuki stared once more at his sons words. He knew, no, they both knew back then that if Maiko had continued on in the condition she was in, it wouldn't be long before she would wither away like the other mothers of the junishi. That probably, like the other families of the junishi, they would have broken too much that they can't be repaired. That Maiko's choice to have her memories erased prevented that; allowed a chance to fix their broken family.

"You may have been selfish, but your selfishness saved mom." Another tear managed to fall from his eyes "Besides," he paused "even though it's true that you left with mom to live outside, you still came back for me." Mizuki's eyes widened at hearing Momiji's words and Momiji sniffed once more.

"Mom became so sick and sad because of me, and because of that, I was left all alone, and I couldn't go and see mom or Momo even if I wanted to. It was painful." More tears fell as Momiji continued to speak "But because you were there, because you kept coming back to visit me, living alone became bearable."

It's true that the outcome of everything that has happened in their lives was painful. But it was bearable. Because despite the new life his dad found with his mother, he still came back for him. He was left alone for weeks, sometimes even months of not seeing his father, but he always came back to visit him, to see how he was doing, to spend time with him. That despite their situation, his father never failed to make him feel loved and for him that was enough.

"So please," Momiji wiped the tears from his face "don't say you failed as my father because you didn't. Because if you did, I wouldn't have been able to create such beautiful memories of the times we spent together."Mizuki felt a tear run down his face as he once more brought Momiji into a tight embrace. They stayed like that until Momiji had stopped crying and he finally let go.

A large, warm hand landed on his head and Momiji felt Mizuki's forehead against his. "Thank you." he said "And sorry" he added a tinge of embarrassment in his voice. "I came here to comfort you and yet I'm the one who got comforted." Mizuki lightly ruffled his hair, a smile on his face

A small smile crept up on Momiji's face as he shook his head lightly "That's not true. I'm really glad you're here dad." He said truthfully before leaning back into the comfy sofa "I feel better now." "I'm glad to hear that." Mizuki smiled and followed suit, leaning back on the sofa as well. He let out a sigh as he relaxed onto it.

A long moment of silence passed between them, but this time, they didn't mind. It was comforting. Mizuki turned to glance at Momiji who currently had his eyes closed before he turned back and let his gaze roam the room, letting it fall on anything and everything he sees. His gaze finally falls on the coffee table before him where pieces of paper and Momiji's reading materials lay scattered about.

"Dad"

"Yeah?" Mizuki broke his gaze with the coffee table to look back at Momiji. "How's mom doing?" came the quiet question. Mizuki returned his gaze to the coffee table. He somehow expected that Momiji would ask about her "She's better now. She didn't get sick or anything like that, so she didn't have a hard time returning to her daily routine." He paused "She did ask me to give her some time before we could talk about her memories though." He answered truthfully which earned a silent 'oh' from Momiji.

Another moment of silence passed before it was broken once more, this time by Mizuki. "You don't have to be afraid that she might revert back to how she was Momiji. Maiko has learned to love you through the times she spent with you." he said. Momiji looked at him "I know she does, but. . . what if . . . she does?" he asked, uncertainty evident in his voice and eyes.

Mizuki stared at his son for a full minute before answering "I don't know." He said truthfully "I don't know, Momiji. But if ever that she does. . ." he paused "I won't let you go through the same thing again. Not on your own." He said and he can't help but smile as he saw Momiji's expression turn from uncertainty to a genuine smile.

His son had gone through so much pain already, and if ever he was about to go through the same pain again, he wasn't going to let him go alone. Not anymore. 

* * *

Author's Notes:

Phew! I finally finished writing this chapter. I've struggled a lot in writing this chapter and I have no idea why. And I was starting to get frustrated since the whole flow of the chapter is in my head but I couldn't find the proper words to express it which was why I had to delete, add, and revise a lot in this chapter and took me another two hours editing because i ended up adding another part to it. Anyway, I'm satisftied with what I've written and I hope you guys like it too!

So review and tell me what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:**

I. AM. EXTREMELY. SORRY. FOR. NOT. UPDATING. IN. SO. LONG. I didn't think that the second semester was literally going to be hectic. There were deadlines and quizzes almost every week and I had to balance my time with academic and extracurricular activities from my student org. that I barely had time to write. Plus, thesis writing was eating up most of my time and whatever's left of my free time was spent either eating, sleeping or relaxing and destressing myself (because if I didn't, I'd collapse from the stress). And when I finally did have the time to write, the file got corrupted, which really put me off writing for a while. But now that everything's done, no more papers to pass, deadlines to meet, activities to do, thesis defense, exams to pass, I am just literally waiting for graduation to come! (HUZZAH!) And I finally had time to finish this!

Also, I was really surprised when I logged back in to see that people are still coming back to read my this story. It really made me happy and motivated me to finish this chapter before graduation (which is tomorrow) and I did!

Again, I'm really sorry for not updating for so long, not even a note to say that I won't be able to update.

Well, now that that's out, on with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 12 

It was a warm afternoon and the house was quiet with nothing but the soft tinkling of the chimes that hung on the living room window could be heard as a gentle breeze entered the house. The large glass windows of the living room were wide open and Momiji sat by the edge of the elevated floor overlooking the garden. Swinging his legs lightly, he quietly hummed a tune to himself as he busied himself with his chosen activity for the afternoon: Origami.

A small smile was on his face as he carefully folded the small piece of paper on his lap before running his fingers through it, making sure that the folded pieces were even and that the shape was right before continuing the same process of folding the paper until the it was formed into the shape it was meant to be.

"Done!"

He exclaimed as he held within his hands a small paper flower similar to the paper flowers he made together with his classmates for Tohru, Yuki and Kyo's graduation.

Running his fingers once more on the paper flower; Momiji smiled; glad that despite his current condition, he can still make origami properly. He was starting to run out of things to do during the afternoons seeing as he couldn't watch TV or even read his books and he didn't have Hatori to bother this time because he had an appointment and left sometime after lunch.

Speaking of the doctor, Momiji grinned, suddenly remembering how Hatori had been worried at leaving him all alone in the house, since Haru couldn't come and his father was at work; and had repeatedly given him reminders about what and what not. He left sometime later though, after he reassured the older man that he was going to be fine and that he was blind, not a kid and that he knew his way around the house.

And it was a couple of hours after Hatori left that Momiji ended up wandering around the house thinking of what to do during the afternoon when he found a few pieces of paper on top of the coffee table in the living room and finally decided on what to do that afternoon.

Placing the flower on the floor beside him, Momiji raised his arms above him, stretching. He brought his left hand in front of him even though he couldn't see it, before closing and opening his hand a couple of times before a cheerful smile crept up on his face and he grabbed another piece of paper with his left hand.

Hatori came with him to the hospital a couple of days before for another check up and after going through several tests, gained the doctor's approval to remove his cast. He remembered how ecstatic he was when he heard that the doctor's decision. He could now move freely.

Although he was told not to do any strenuous activities using his left arm for a while since his arm was still recovering, he was still happy. After all, given time he would be able to do the things he couldn't do because his arm was broken. And most importantly, he'd be able to play the violin again.

Just the thought of playing again really lifted his mood as he once again begun to hum a tune to himself as he decided on what to do next.

Another breeze passed by, causing the wind chime to tinkle softly once more as Momiji continued in comforting silence, stopping every once in a while to make sure he got the shape right.

"There!"

He said to himself cheerfully as he finished the rabbit origami he made and carefully ran his hands on it to make sure everything was right. "Hmm, one ear seems to be a bit shorter…" he mumbled to himself "Oh well, at least the rest of it's okay." He said as placed it next to the flower on the floor.

"What should I do next?" he mumbled to himself as he thought of what to make, reaching out for another piece of paper. But just as his fingers barely touched the paper, another breeze passed by, much stronger than the last, scattering the remaining pieces of paper a couple of feet away from him.

Momiji let out a yelp as he stretched out his arms to keep the papers in his reach, but he only managed to keep three pieces in his hands. Momiji sighed, he was sure there were a couple more pieces left which he hadn't been able to grasp in time. Hoping that the remaining scattered papers were blown inside the living room and not outside into the garden, he let his hand roam around the floor looking for them while holding the rest of the papers on his other hand.

After a few seconds of searching, Momiji finally felt the corner of a paper and picked it up. "Okay, one more to go." He said to himself as he once again let his hand roam around. It took less time to search this time and Momiji felt the familiar corner of the paper.

But as he leaned in to reach grab it, he ended up slipping, not realizing that he leaned in too low that he wasn't able to keep himself up, swerved his hand across the floor and accidentally swiping the papermaking it fall a couple of feet away from him and into the soft grass outside.

"Ah! Where'd it go?" he exclaimed as he pushed himself back into sitting position on the floor. Momiji pouted. Now he didn't know if the paper he was looking for was still somewhere in the living room or if it fell outside.

Thinking of what to do, he once again tried to roam his hands on the floor, slower this time, still hoping that the last piece of paper was still somewhere in the living room. It wasn't that it was important for him to find it, but he didn't like to just leave things lying around if he can help it, blind or not. He was so caught up in his search that he didn't notice the quiet footsteps that came from the garden and were slowly heading towards him.

It wasn't until the footsteps were a mere couple of feet from him when he finally heard the soft sound of the footsteps against the grass that he stopped and looked back from his slightly twisted angle only to feel a slight movement of air near his face.

"Here."

Momiji blinked, processing what just happened before his eyes widened as he realized who the voice belonged to. A small smile crept up his face "You said you'd be on a business trip. I wasn't expecting you to visit so soon, Akito." He said as he continued to look in the direction where the voice came from.

The Sohma head stood in front of him, holding the small piece of paper in front of Momiji. "It ended earlier than planned. Also, you stopped replying from my messages. I only found out what happened from Shigure when I came back." She nonchalantly explained as she realized that Momiji couldn't see the paper she was holding and placed it on Momiji's hand who, upon noticing, gratefully took it.

"Is that so? Sorry about that." he replied, a sheepish grin on his face. Akito didn't say anything in return. Instead, she stared at Momiji, noticing how the blonde was looking in her direction but not exactly looking at her. "So it's true then. Your sight…" she said and Momiji nodded lightly, his smile faltering slightly "Yeah, but the doctor said it isn't permanent. Just that it would take some time to heal." He explained, shrugging a little.

Akito stared at him a little longer, observing the blonde before moving her gaze to the small pieces of origami that sat beside Momiji, first to the flower and then to the rabbit. Her gaze softened ever so slightly. "Akito?" Momiji asked, noticing the silence from the Sohma head.

"Origami." She uttered and Momiji blinked "Oh, right! I didn't have much to do this afternoon and I was getting bored when I found some paper and decided to just make them." He explained cheerfully "Though I'm glad I still remember how to make them, I'm not sure if I got shapes right." He added before running his hand over the flower and the rabbit lightly. "Want to make one?" he turned back to the Sohma head as he offered the piece of paper Akito gave him back to her.

Akito blinked, a bit taken aback at the offer before gently taking the piece of paper back from Momiji's hand. Momiji's smile grew when she did this and heard her take a couple of steps to his right before sitting down beside him. Deciding that he should make another one, Momiji picked up a piece of paper and thought of what to make next.

The wind chime once again gave out a soft tinkling sound as a light breeze passed by them and the two sat in comforting silence.

"You know," Akito started, breaking the silence between them "it's been a while since we've sent messages. I think I actually miss it."Akito said. "Well, that's true." Momiji mumbled as he said this and tilted his head a little as if he was thinking before he smiled again "I guess you'd just have to visit more often then so we can talk." He said, turning towards the Sohma head as he did so.

Akito blinked at the suggestion, thinking it over for a moment before turning her attention back to the origami in her hands "… I suppose I can visit, if I'm free." Her reply came out slowly and quietly but upon hearing it, Momiji's smile grew "I'll be waiting then."

Silence once more occupied the two as Akito continued to carefully fold the origami in her hands while Momiji simply sat, lightly swinging his legs and was quietly humming a tune to himself.

Months ago, he'd never imagine finding himself sitting side by side with the Sohma head let alone being friends. Momiji blinked at the thought. He wasn't sure if friendship was the right term for their relationship given all that had happened in the past. Though he did try to reach out to her a few times, like that time when they went to the beach to spend summer vacation together with Tohru, he didn't really expect that Akito would respond positively to him. And when his curse broke, he thought that his relationship with Akito would be completely severed.

He never thought that one day their relationship would grow to something close to friendship. And he'd never once thought that the one who would reach out this time was Akito. Momiji smiled once more as he recalled the memory.

It had been a couple of days after Tohru was released from the hospital and he was heading back home from school when he suddenly received a message from Akito thanking him. Surprised as he was at the sudden message, he was even more surprised as he found himself replying back to the Sohma head. From then on, the two of them continued to send messages to the other.

At first he felt a bit awkward about it since he and Akito barely knew anything about the other and most of the things they have in common weren't exactly good either. But seeing how it all turned out, he was glad to know that he and Akito became friends. Momiji smiled as he remembered those times.

"What are you smiling at?"

The question made Momiji turn to Akito, who was looking at him curiously. "Ah, I just remembered the first time you sent me a text message." He explained and heard an indescribable sound come from Akito before laughing lightly. "I didn't think you'd remember that." Akito murmured almost inaudibly; and judging from the tone of voice, slightly embarrassed.

"Of course I do. It's the first time you actually thanked me for something." He replied back "I don't think I'll ever forget about it." He finished.

Akito stared at him for a moment, looking a little unsure of what to say next. Feeling the gaze directed at him, Momiji once more turned to look at her. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Akito remained silent for a few more seconds before deciding to speak "Are you alright?" she asked. When Momiji only blinked in response Akito took this chance to speak again "We haven't really been able to talk for some time since I was away and when I came back you…" she stopped right there, not sure on how to continue on and returned her gaze back to the origami she held in her hand.

Momiji kept his gaze on her for a second more before he, too, reverted his gaze back to his hands where the a half folded paper lay. He took a moment and gathered his thoughts before looking back at Akito. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure about that." He admitted ,a sad smile on his face.

He then told Akito about what happened, about the accident, about losing his sight, his mother and Momo finding out about him and his mother's memories returning. He even told her how he once considered the idea of erasing his mother's memories and how Hatori and his father reassured him that his mother was fine. He told her everything, venting out his thoughts, his worries and fears, everything, and Akito just sat there listening quietly as he ranted and vented it all out.

Silence fell between them right after and Momiji was about to pick up the paper he had unconsciously he left on the floor when Akito spoke, breaking the silence.

"Aren't you angry at me?" the words came out slowly, quietly, as Akito stared down on the origami on her lap. "Why?" Momiji asked back as he picked up the folded paper, feeling its shape before continuing where he left off.

Akito lifted her head, a questioning look on her face. She stared at him for a few more seconds before returning her gaze back on her lap. "I… I was the one who gave your mother the idea of easing you from her memories." She answered.

Momiji remained silent as the wind chime gave a soft tinkling sound when a gentle breeze passed by. "Honestly, when I found out about that, I was angry for some time." He admitted and Akito lowered her head, seemingly expecting the answer. "But then" he continued "I realized that even though you may have been the one to tell her about it, it was still my mother who made the choice."

Akito, surprised at the words she was hearing, blinked and lifted her head to look back at Momiji. "What?" was the only thing she was able to ask and Momiji turned to her "I'm not angry at you for that. Nor do I hate you." He told her.

"But if I hadn't told her, you wouldn't have had to be forgotten by your mother." She said quietly. Momiji didn't answer right away and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again "That's true but… in the end, the decision relied upon my mother. When I realized that, the anger that I felt towards you lessened."

A moment of silence passed between them before Akito deiced to break it. "I'm sorry." The words came out softly and quietly that it was almost a whisper, but Momiji heard it. "Why are you apologizing? I didn't blame you." Momiji said "And like I said, it was my mother who decided to forget me. You had nothing to do with her decision. So why are you apologizing?" Momiji told her before placing the small paper crane he had finished making on the floor next to the others he made and picked up another piece of paper to fold.

"Honestly, why are you guys suddenly apologizing to me? First there was dad and now you." Momiji said, almost jokingly as he began to fold the paper, this time making a caterpillar.

Akito, let his words sink in, understanding it and stared as he folded the paper for a while before bringing the origami to her lips and blowing on it. "Hypocrite."

"Huh?"

"I said you're a hypocrite." She repeated. Momiji blinked at the sudden accusation "um… why?" he asked, somehow used to Akito's sudden change of topic.

Akito didn't answer right away and continued to blow on her origami. "The story of the foolish traveler." She muttered. "Um… what about it?" Momiji asked, still not seeing the connection.

Akito finished blowing on the origami and now held a small paper ball in her hands. "You told me before… that the foolish traveler used to travel to different towns and gave up all of his possessions to people who asked him for it because he was too kind to decline." She paused "And that when he had given up everything he had, he gave up even his own body."

Her gaze fell to the paper ball in her hand "In the end, he lost everything he had and the only thing he received back was a single piece of paper with the word 'Idiot' written on it. Not minding the insult, the foolish traveler had been so happy that he received something that he cried and said 'thank you' until he died." Akito explained and Momiji listened quietly, wondering what Akito was trying to say.

"When you told me that story, you said that I'd want to see Tohru after hearing it and I did. But when I thought about it again I realized that it wasn't just Tohru who reminded me of that story." Akito turned to look at Momiji "It also reminded me of you."

"Akito…"Momiji looked at Akito as she said this. "You're like the foolish traveler when it comes to your family." Akito continued "Always being so understanding and accepting of whatever is happening just to make your family happy. Even when you don't exactly get anything in return, you still accept it with that smile on your face. Just like that woman.(1)" she paused "To be honest, it's a little irritating, actually; seeing you guys like that." She said, the last part sounding a bit annoyed and Momiji laughed a little at that.

But, after listening, he understood what Akito meant. He had always been ready to give up everything if it meant his family's happiness. Just like how he tried to avoid meeting up with his mother and sister before and instead decided to watch them from afar, or when he gave up his violin lessons so that Momo can learn from the same teacher or during the times that he can't even spend the time with his father because he didn't want to cause suspicion for his mother and many other things he had given up or didn't bother to have because by doing so would meant problems for his family.

"The foolish traveler, huh?" Momiji thought aloud as he leaned backwards, placing his hands behind him to support his weight. There were a lot of things he gave up for his family. But just like the foolish traveler, whenever he would receive something from his family, a small thank you or a kind gesture, it was enough to make him cry tears of joy. Because he knew that he did something to make them happy, seeing them like that was enough.

Akito watched as a small, sad smile crept up on his face "I guess… its fitting." He mumbled and Akito let out a small sigh before standing up.

A moment of silence fell between them before Akito decided to break it "I should go."

"Eh? So soon?" Momiji looked disappointed and almost pouted as his mood almost did a 360 causing Akito to raise a brow at that. "Shigure's probably looking for me. I snuck out from work." She explained. "Oh, so you're going back now?" Momiji asked "Not yet. I don't want to be found yet." Came the straightforward answer and Momiji chuckled "I see."

After stretching a bit, Akito picked up the small paper ball she made that fell as she stood up and walked towards Momiji. "As for what you should do," she started, catching Momiji's attention "I'm not really sure what I can tell you but…" she dropped the small paper ball to Momiji's hand, landing gently "I think it'll be fine in the end." Momiji looked up at her "Akito… thank you." He smiled

"I should really be going now." Akito replied and started to run back to the way she came but stopped as she reached the edge of the garden "I also think that, that girl hiding in the bush wants to talk to you." She added.

"A girl?" Momiji repeated and just as he said it, he heard a rustle in the bushes to his left. "Who's there?" he asked as he pushed himself up off the floor where he sat. Another rustle was heard before Momiji heard footsteps coming out of the bush and head towards him.

The person stopped about a feet from him before a familiar voice called out to him. "Momiji."

Momiji blinked. "Momo? Don't tell me you snuck out again. Maiko-san might get mad." He walked towards his sister as he fussed and seeing that she had nothing more to do there, Akito continued to make her way out.

"Akito!"

Looking back, Akito saw Momiji smiling genuinely "Thanks again." He said. "No problem." Came her short answer before turning around to leave.

Watching Akito leave, Momo turned to Momiji and tugged at his shirt "Momiji, who was that?" she asked. Momiji looked down at her "That was Akito, she's the Sohma family head." Momiji answered as they both went back into the house. "She's the family head?" Momo repeated, looking a bit shocked "…She's pretty." She mumbled as Momiji sat back in his previous spot on the floor "She is, isn't she?" he smiled back and it was only then that Momo noticed the colorful origami on the floor.

"Momiji, did you make all these?" Momo asked as she gently picked up one of the origami pieces. Momiji smiled "Yup! Ah, but Akito made this one." He motioned to the paper ball he was still holding. Momo looked up at him and then back to the origami she held and back at Momiji again "Momo doesn't get it. How did you make this? You can't see, right?" she asked and Momiji grinned "That's because I used to do a lot of these back when I was young so that even when I can't see now, I still remember how to make it." He told her and his smile grew as he heard Momo make a 'wow' sound as he said this.

Momiji remembered his question earlier had remained unanswered, he decided to ask again "Momo," he called as he felt the small girl plop down next to him, smiling as she did so "did you sneak out again? Maiko-san might get mad." He asked.

Momo blinked and looked up at him "Why did you call mommy by her name? Why didn't you call her mommy too?" she asked. Realizing that he had indeed said 'Maiko-san' he smiled sheepishly "I guess, I just got used to calling her that." He told her. "Oh… then, will you call her mommy now?" Momo asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. "…Maybe." He answered, although if he did, he would more likely just call her mom instead of mommy since that was what he was used to.

Turning back to his question once more, he turned to Momo "You didn't answer my question, Momo. Did you sneak out again?" he repeated his question for the third time.

Momo shook her head "Nope! I asked mommy this time and she said I could go." She answered "I see. " Momiji sighed and leaned back "That's good then." he added. He remembered the other day when his dad mentioned that Momo had snuck out on that day that she came to meet him and he didn't want them to worry and get Momo scolded again.

"Momiji"

"Hm?" he titled his head sideways as he felt a tug on his sleeve "Mommy said that she remembers you now." Momo said.

"…I know."

"Daddy also told me about the zodiac curse and that you were the rabbit."

"I know that too."

"And that the curse is broken."

"It is."

"Will you start living with us then?"

Momiji could feel Momo staring at him, waiting for an answer. "I… don't know, Momo." he answered. Momo tilted her head "Why?" she asked and Momiji didn't know what to say. He knew that Momo was a curious kid, and he knew that now that she knew everything about him she would be asking questions about it. But he honestly didn't think that it would happen right now nor did he expect that Momo would be so blunt about it.

"Momiji?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked back to Momo, not noticing that he lowered his head "…I don't know either, Momo." He answered. Momiji inwardly sighed. It wasn't as if he didn't really want to live with them, it's just, before he could even think about that, he was already too preoccupied thinking about what will happen when he meets his mother again.

How would she react? What would she say? How would she treat him in front of Momo? Would everything still be okay? He couldn't even think past the 'what if's' that had been stuck in his mind ever since he found out that his mother found out about him and now Momo gave him another question that he still hasn't got an answer yet.

"Oh, okay." She said and her attention went back to the paper left on the floor "Can I make some origami too?" she asked. "Sure" he smiled and Momo picked up a pepr and began to fold it.

"Momiji?"

"Yeah?" he once again turned towards Momo who was concentrating on folding the origami she was making "I talked to mommy the other day." She said "Really?" Momiji said, his eyes slightly growing bigger. He didn't expect that.

Momo didn't answer, but since she sat so close to him, he felt her nod. "So… what did you talk about?" he asked

"You."

Momiji was surprised. Even though he already had an idea of what Momo's answer would be, he couldn't help but feel surprised. Well, he wasn't really expecting such a blunt answer… but Momo always had a way of saying the truth so honestly and straightforwardly. Just like that time when she met Tohru and asked her to ask him if he could be her big brother.

"What about me did you talk about?" he asked, not really sure what kind of answer he would get from his sister. Momo paused in folding one of the corners of the paper, suddenly looking confused as to what to do next "I asked her what she thought about you." She sat back up and looked at Momiji "I asked if she still hates you."

Momiji stared at Momo, taken aback by her words. How could Momo ask so bluntly? Especially about something like this? "…You really asked her that?" he asked, his voice low and quiet. He felt Momo nod again "Yes."

"What did…" he paused, wondering if he should continue his question before continuing. "What did she say?" he asked.

"She said she didn't know."

Momiji turned towards Momo. "She… really said that?" he mumbled and Momo merely tilted her head to the side once more, not understanding what was happening as his expression became unreadable.

He was surprised at hearing those words. He really wasn't expecting an answer like that. Not from his mother. He remembered back then before her memories were erased, he asked his mother if she really hated him. He can clearly remember how quickly his mother answered that she did, not even sparing a second to think over the question or what she would say or how it would hurt him to hear her say that.

Her words back then somehow remained with him even until now that hearing Momo say that she said she didn't know was enough to surprise him.

"_You don't have to be afraid that she might revert back to how she was Momiji."_

Momiji suddenly remembered the words his father told him the other day and somehow, after what Momo said, he was starting to believe those words.

"_Maiko has learned to love you through the times she spent with you."_

Is it true? Has she really? The fact that she said she didn't know… it must mean that she was at least thinking about how she felt about him right? That even though her memories and emotions from before had returned, she didn't entirely hate him anymore… right?

Relief quickly spread though him as soon as those thoughts passed through his mind and he breathe out, not realizing that he had held his breath as soon as he heard Momo's answer.

Momo stared at him, wondering what was wrong. "Momiji?" she called, and when he turned to look at her she saw that his eyes were glassy, as if he was about to cry. "Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Noting the worry from his sister, Momiji quickly rubbed his eyes and smiled "It's nothing Momo." he said. Momo blinked "Is it because of what I said about mommy?" she asked, her worry still evident in her voice. A gentle smile crept on Momiji's face as he reached out and lightly patted Momo's head "I'm fine. It's just… what you said made me relieved."

Momo tilted her head "Relieved? Why?" she asked, leaning closer to Momiji. "Because," he started "you said she didn't know if she hates me." He told her. "I don't get it." Momo mumbled to herself before looking up at Momiji "I don't get it, Momiji."

Momiji's smile grew a little as he heard her reaction "It's because… before, I asked mom the same question." He said. "…and she said yes?" Momo asked, her voice quiet, and he gave a nod.

Momo remained quiet for a moment as she stared at the half-made origami in her hands, a thoughtful look in her eyes before she looked back at Momiji again "Is that why you don't know if you could live with us?" she asked.

"Momo…" was all he could say as he was taken aback by her question. "You said she hated you before. That must mean that she got angry a lot, right? Mommy's really scary when she's angry…" she said, pouting a little "Were you scared, Momiji?" she asked.

Hearing his sister's reasoning, he can't help but wonder at how perceptive she is. Since she was still young, Momo can't really grasp the whole situation yet, but she has a way of understanding situations like this in an unbelievable way. To answer her question, Momiji nodded slowly, he answered "Yeah."

"Are you still scared?" she asked again, leaning in to Momiji. "…Yeah" he nodded again.

A moment of silence fell between them and Momiji wondered what was going through Momo's mind as she heard what he had to say. From what he could hear, Momo wasn't continuing the origami she had stopped doing since they started talking about their mother since he could no longer hear the quiet rustle of paper being folded.

He suddenly felt a movement to his right followed by the sound of feet stepping on the floor as he realized Momo stood up and was moving towards him. "Momo? What are yo-" his question was cut off when he suddenly felt two small arms wrap around him and a small head resting on the crook of his neck.

"…Momo?"

"You said you were scared."

Momiji blinked, lowering his head enough so that his chin was almost touching Momo's head. "Momo?" he called and he felt Momo look up at him "You said you were scared." She repeated "Whenever I'm scared, daddy would come and hug me until I'm not scared anymore." She explained.

"Momo…" Momiji let her words sink in. This was the… first time he had been held like this by someone who wasn't a member of the jyunishi. Feeling the small arms wrapped around him and the tiny body pressed against him made him want to cry at the comfort and warmth he could feel from the embrace that seemed to wash away the fear and anxiety he was feeling.

Bringing his arms around the small body, Momiji returned the embrace. "Thank you, Momo." he said as a tear managed to escape and trickle down his face.

"_I think it'll be fine in the end."_

He really hoped that what Akito said would be true. That everything would be fine in the end. That his mother really didn't completely hate him anymore and that he could finally live with his family.

Basking in the warmth and comfort given to him by his sister, he really hoped that everything would be fine in the end. 

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I really hope I got Akito's character right. I know she was gradually changing by the end of the series but like I said with Hatori's case, I just can't seem to fully grasp her character even when I read the manga over and over again. And I think this is the most I've seen/made Aktio speak lol The main reason why I chose Akito for this scene was because I really wanted to further the relationship between Akito and Momiji as something akin to friendship that I noticed when I read the chapter (I can't remember which anymore) where Momiji saw Akito in the hospital where Tohru and Kureno and he went over to talk to her. I saw the potential of having a friendship-sort-of relationship from that scene and then this came up XD

I hope you guys still review even after 6 months of no update whatsoever, I really wanna know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Notes:

I finally finished this chapter. Sorry for the relatively long wait again, the heat is just so intense here now that it's summer and I couldn't think straight while writing this because of the heat, so I had to take a break every now and then... and because it's so hot I tended to procrastinate and do nothing... then got distracted by re-watching Vision of Escaflowne and reading Shaman King from he first to the last chapter and getting sucked into the KHR fandom again... anyway, I'm just ranting.

On with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 13 

A cool breeze passed through the quiet gardens of the Sohma estate, taking along with it dry, fallen leaves that had fallen to the ground. Maiko brought her hand up to the side of her face, preventing her hair from flying all over it as the breeze passed by. Looking around, she carefully scanned the area around her, taking in as much as she could see as she walked upon the path that led to her intended destination.

The place was quiet, calming even, with nothing but the occasional chirping of birds and the sound of water trickling down from bamboo fountains. The gardens she passed by had beautiful flowers of different kinds and as well as lush green trees, shrubs and bushes that were well-maintained.

Continuing on her way, she realized that not much had changed inside the main house from how it was back then. Although she had noticed several gardens had different shrubs or flowers, everything she remembered was still in the same place as it was before. Even the houses remained the same with its traditional architecture and style.

Turning around the corner, she stopped as her destination came into view a few meters away. Just like the rest of the Sohma estate, the house that stood at the far end of the path remained the same just like how it was when she had first seen it.

Stepping forward, she once again continued to walk towards the house, her gaze never leaving it. She had been thinking of visiting the main house for a while now, and she wanted to go alone. Her request seemed to have worried Mizuki, but after explaining that she was not going to see Momiji and telling him her purpose for going there, he understood.

She stopped, almost a step away from the small gate, as she once more looked at the house in front of her.

This place was her old home.

This was the place where everything began; where all the pain and tears and sadness started. The place she had wanted to forget, together with the one person who she thought she would never have to see again.

Opening the gate, she took slow, even steps forward towards the door. She could clearly remember how she first went through that door, happy and smiling, after she married Mizuki, how she would always see him off as he went to work, how she would often wait by that door, as she waited for him to come home, hoping to find some comfort from spening the whole day alone with their son at home.

She could clearly remember how she felt during those times.

Anxious.

Worried.

_Afraid. _

She stopped, her hand resting gently on the door knob. She clearly remembered now. How she was so afraid of staying at home alone with Momiji. How she didn't want to spend any more time with the boy. How she almost isolated herself from him.

Almost.

Because it was impossible to completely ignore the child. She didn't want to associate herself anymore than needed with him, but she wasn't stupid enough to neglect him. She just... didn't want to be around him.

Turning the knob, she opened the door. The sight of the familiar genkan and shoe cabinet and umbrella rack that greeted her seemed almost nostalgic. Closing the door behind her, she crouched down as she removed her shoes and placed them neatly in the center, facing the door.

Continuing on to the hallway, she let one of her hands trail along the wall as she walked, continuing her thoughts from where it last fell off.

After regaining her memories, she had often wondered where everything began to fall. She wasn't like that before. She wasn't prone to losing her composure and go into hysterics. She wasn't easily angered nor depressed, let alone fall into anxiety. She wasn't so easily broken.

Coming to stop at the first door, she turned the knob and swung it halfway to reveal the study that was often used by Mizuki before. Stepping inside, she looked around, noting the lack of change in the room, before stopping at the small desk situated near the window.

The smell of books still permeated the air even though there weren't as many books now than back then and somehow she found this comforting. Mizuki had a similar room back at their house, although it had a bigger space than this one, where he would often sit down and read or work.

She carefully ran her hand on the table as she remembered how often Mizuki used this room as a haven for Momiji whenever she was in one of her hysterics; how often Momiji would stay in the room because Mizuki usually used it whenever he brought some of his work was actually during those moments she remembered seeing both of them somewhat at peace. As if the study was the only place both he and Momiji could find some semblance of peace together.

Although now, noting from the layers of dust that had accumulated in the room and furniture, it was easy to note that it wasn't used very often, probably only when Mizuki came to visit Momiji and brought some work with him.

She looked around the room once more as she started to head towards the door to continue on to see the rest of the house.

Pausing mid-step, she turned back to the room. She remembered now why she never frequented this room. As hysterical and despaired as she was back then, she didn't enter this room quite often. She couldn't remember why she did so, but now after giving it some thought, she realized that back then, she understood that they needed a place where they could find peace, just like her, as rare as it was back then. And when she realized that those two found it at this room, she did her best not to enter and destroy that peace.

She closed the door with a quiet 'click' before continuing on down the hallway. She took small, careful steps, making her footsteps as quiet as possible as she looked around. It almost seemed like this was her first time visiting the house despite knowing exactly where she was headed.

Reaching the door way, she was greeted by the view of the living room. She quietly entered, looking around, just like when she was in the study. Noticing the difference in appearance of the room from the one she remembered, it was obvious that the room looked more lived in and probably had more of Momiji's taste than the other room she saw.

Some of the furniture were replaced with new ones, others rearranged as well as having a few ornaments here and there. A couple of magazines and a book were scattered on the coffee table and the remote was left sitting on the couch together with a cute rabbit plushie. Several DVDs were haphazardly placed in a stack beside the TV and a few picture frames where placed on one of the corner tables.

She was about to go over the corner table and look at the picture frames when something white on the floor caught her attention and upon closer inspection, she saw a blank piece of paper under the coffee table. Curious, she picked it up, realizing that the paper wasn't blank. Rather, the paper seemed to be a copy of a music sheet that must've fallen on the floor. Looking up from where she found the sheet, she saw a few more pages almost completely invisible underneath one of the magazines on the coffee table.

Deciding to just stick to the paper in hand, she returned her attention to the said paper and inspected it. "Ave Maria..." she read the sheet title as she let her gaze roam down the rest of the notes. Thinking back on her memories, she had never pictured Momiji as one who loved music, even more so as a violinist. He didn't seem to show any interest to music back then. But then again, she hardly paid attention to the boy back then and seeing how Momiji literally brightened up at the mention of playing the violin back in the hospital, it was obvious that the boy had a passion for it.

Now she understood why Momiji's first words after waking up in the hospital were something regarding his left arm. He was probably worried about not being able to play again. Now that she thought about it, she also asked Mizuki about it after confirming that Momiji was her son. She had asked when Momiji started to learn to play the violin and from who and she was surprised to find out that it was from the same teacher as Momo's.

Maiko couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt when Mizuki also told her that Momiji had to stop taking violin lessons from his teacher so that Momo would also be able to take lessons from the same person. At first she didn't understand why Momiji had to stop, but then she remembered that Mizuki didn't want to have any contact between Momiji and her and Momo and the guilt instantly hit her. It may have been indirect, but it was also because of her that Momiji had to stop. If she hadn't forgotten him, they would've still been living together. Thus, Momiji and Momo wouldn't have had to be separated, and there wouldn't be a need for Momiji to avoid his sister. But...

Maiko gazed down on the sheets she held, noting the various lines and notes and other scribbles written down on it.

...despite the fact that he had to stop his lessons, she could see that Momiji still persevered to study on his own; if his own notes and scribbles on the sheets were any indication.

She ran her fingers over the words, feeling the rough texture of the paper, most likely caused by the constant friction between paper and eraser. Unconsciously, a small smile crept upon her lips.

The sound of something hard hitting the glass broke her out of her thoughts as she whipped her head towards the window. One of the large, dry leaves must've hit the glass as she watched a relatively strong breeze pass by, causing the tree outside to sway along as well as taking along with it the dry leaves that fell on the grass.

She sat there staring outside for a while longer before placing the sheets back on its original place on the coffee table before standing up, sparing one more glance at the room, and left to explore the rest of the house.

She passed by the bathroom, which she didn't bother to take a glance at, and the kitchen, where she barely paid much attention to. She passed another door before reaching the end of the hall and came face to face with the door that led to the room she was the most familiar with.

She slowly reached for the knob, turned it, and quietly swung the door open. The sight of the master bedroom brought back so many memories that it took a while before she was able to take a step inside. She quietly took note of the changes in the room, as she tried to keep her emotions in check.

This was the room she had spent her time in the most. All of the pent up emotions she held back, all the rage and frustration, the despair; all of it, she held back within herself as she isolated herself in this room. Noting the lack of change in the room, aside from being bare of its former ornaments and colour that gave some semblance of life in the room except for the bare essentials, she took a seat on the bed.

Turning her gaze towards the window, she was reminded of how she used to often sit and stare at the garden outside trying to while away her time.

Thinking back on her past, she knew that she wasn't so broken from the start. If anything, she was happy, carefree, _content_ even. So what happened? What changed inside her for her to become someone so different? In all honesty, she didn't know. When she looked back into her memories, she assumed it must've been sometime after Momiji had been born.

She had been so happy when she found out that she was pregnant and she made sure to take care of herself really well. So she was scared when she had to give birth two months earlier. She also didn't understand why her husband had been in such a worried state even after hearing that their son was born healthy.

But...

Maiko's hand unconsciously gripped the corner of one of the pillows, an unreadable expression on her face.

...the moment she held Momiji for the first time only for him to transform into a rabbit, she had been too shocked to even understand what happened. Her child... her beloved child turned into a rabbit.

Her gripped tightened as she remembered how Mizuki explained everything to her. She didn't believe it at first; she didn't try to listen. But after holding her son once more only to have the same result happen again, she knew that everything they said was real.

Days passed, and she tried to continue on caring for Momiji. Even though she couldn't hold Momiji because of the curse, she still tried her best. Whenever she would accidentally hold him, she would hold back her fear and the slowly growing despair inside her. She tried to show her child the love she had for him; that despite what happened, despite the curse, she still loved her child.

Maiko closed her eyes as she once again began to feel all the emotions she had back then return to the surface.

She tried.

Really, she did.

But there was only so much a person could take.

To give her all to her child, whom she loved so much only to end up making him turn into an animal. It pained her. Her inability to hold her own son; to hold that small, gentle life, within her arms for her to love and protect; it drove her into frustration.

How could she be a mother to her child if she couldn't even care for him? There was only so much she could do for Momiji without touching him.

She remembered that one time where Momiji had gotten sick and she was at a loss of what to do. she wanted to bring her son to the doctor or even to Hatori but Momiji was crying and squirming so much that she couldn't even just hold him with her hands just like how she usually did. She had to wait for Mizuki to come home and bring Momiji to the doctor himself because she couldn't even hold him and the wait was the most horrible torture she could have gone through. Watching her own child crying and suffering and being unable to do anything because she couldn't even properly hold her child; she had felt so frustrated; so useless and pathetic that she had ended up bursting into tears.

Mizuki tried to help; tried to reassure and console her during the times she wallowed in those bitter feelings, and she was grateful for that. But as time continued on; days turned to months, and months to a year; she just couldn't handle it anymore.

Her frustration was slowly driving her into anger; her hope was slowly dwindling into despair.

It had barely been a year and already she felt so exhausted. She felt like all of the things she had done for her child had gone to waste. The pain brought to her by the fact that she couldn't even hold her own child was just too much.

But in spite of all these, she still fervently clung to the love that she felt for her child. Somewhere in her mind, she knew Momiji wasn't to blame.

However, this too, also slowly started to change as time continued to pass.

The anger and despair had become too much for her to bear that, at some point, she began to break. It was becoming too much for her mentally and emotionally. She would oftentimes find herself staring off into space, lost in thought or sleeping in the bedroom. There were even times that she would find herself venting out her anger on almost anything.

And it was during one of these times that she had accidentally hit Momiji.

The quiet cry snapped her back to reality and it was only then that she realized what she had done. The realization sent her into a fit of confusion and rage. To _hurt_ the child she loved the most. The mere thought of it sent her into hysteria.

"_I've... hurt Momiji..."_

The words she said on that day played on her mind as her knuckles had almost turned white as she closed her hands into fists.

"_I am... unfit... to be a mother."_

She brought her other hand to cover her face and closed her eyes. She remembered how she had broken down in front of her husband as she said those words.

Mizuki had reassured her that Momiji was not seriously injured, that he was fine and that she shouldn't worry about it anymore. But she didn't drop the subject. She _wouldn't._ She didn't want to hurt her son. But she couldn't seem to stop herself.

Mizuki pleaded, begged that she shouldn't give up; that there was still hope. She had agreed. Just one more time... she would try to hold on for a little bit longer. She didn't want to hurt Momiji so she tried to distance herself from the boy. Tried to push him away. But every time that she did, he kept coming back to her. Even on several occasions where she lost control of herself, where she would sometimes throw things and scream hysterically, Momiji would leave her, but would then return later on when she had calmed down.

She didn't understand anymore. She had been trying her hardest to cope with what happened to her family. She tried her best to love her child. She tried her best to keep him safe, even from herself... and yet, she felt like nothing came about from all she had done; all she had sacrificed.

There came a time when she had begun to think where it all started. How did she end up like this? Why did everything become so painful? Her beginning was so full of smiles and laughter and happiness. So why did it hurt so much now? Why could she only feel pain and despair? Where did it all began?

"_...Momiji"_

That's right. That was where it all began. The moment she had given birth to her son...

"_...no..."_

It was all because she gave birth to him...

"_That... that creature" _

...that she was suffering right now.

"_...is not my son."_

Her own child would never bring this kind of pain and despair to her. Her own child would never bring her fear whenever she held him. No. That boy was not her son. It was a creature brought by the curse.

"_That is not my son!"_

Maiko brought her hands to her face as she remembered those words leave her lips.

All of the pent up emotions she had been keeping inside ever since she had Momiji had piled up. Something had broken deep inside her; something very important.

It felt like her heart was a glass of water was continually filled with water even when it was already filled to the brim and the remaining water had overflowed. She could only take so much before she could take no more. And when there was no more space left to keep her emotions, she let it flow, allowed it to consume her until there was nothing left of her that would remind her of herself.

She had become the shell of the woman she used to be. A woman full of anger and despair. And as time passed, it had begun to affect her health. She felt like her life was dwindling away, waiting for her time to come.

Maiko let out a heavy sigh as she opened her eyes. Looking for something to take her mind off of her memories, she let her gaze roam around the room.

Recalling such memories... she had never intended to relive that pain. That wasn't the reason why she was here.

Pushing herself up off the bed, she slowly made her way back to the door, closing it behind her without even looking back, and continued her way towards the last room of the house.

She had a purpose. And that purpose had something to do with her decision now.

When she was told about the dragon's ability to erase memories; to remove people from one's mind completely as if they never existed at all. It was only then that she felt she was given hope once more.

She found a way out.

Without hesitation, she had asked Mizuki about it, agreed to having Momiji erased from her memories. At that time, she didn't really care anymore. At that time, all she ever wanted was to be freed from her fate. That was all that mattered to her.

She never really thought of the consequences.

She stopped in front of the door and placed her hand on the door knob. She could feel a small part of her hesitating, but she knew she had to do this. Gently, she turned the knob and swung the door slowly.

The bright light was the first thing that met her eyes as she opened the door. She blinked rapidly as she tried to get her eyes adjusted to the sudden burst of sunlight from the room. When her eyes had adjusted enough she finally looked up at the room.

The long white curtains were pushed on one side of the large glass doors at the farthest side of the room which allowed the bright afternoon light to enter the room. Maiko looked around as she entered the bright yellow room, her eyes full of curiosity.

The bed was positioned beside the wall, a few plush toys placed above it, leaning on the wall. At the foot of the bed was the dresser. A desk was placed on the other side of the room where a few more picture frames where placed as well as a couple more of those plush toys.

"Momiji must like these a lot." She mumbled to herself as she grabbed one of the plush toys. It didn't look like any of the usual shapes that were usually found in shops, and she was sure that it wasn't an animal. A small smile graced her lips "So Momiji also likes Mogeta." She said, chuckling to herself. She recognized the character, having seen Momo watching it at home every day. Seeing that Momiji seemed to like it too, since she also saw a couple of Mogeta DVDs in the living room, made her smile even more.

During the time she lived her life after forgetting Momiji, he didn't completely disappeared from her life. She met Momiji a few years after she forgot him, wandering around the building where Mizuki worked.

The first couple of times she met Momiji left her with the impression that Momiji was a really cheerful boy with a bubbly personality. Although she thought it strange that the boy often wore clothes that make him look more feminine, she assumed that it was probably just a phase that he would eventually grow out of.

Returning the Mogeta plushie back, her gaze fell onto one of the picture frames beside it. Picking it up, she saw that it was probably taken at his school since all of the people in it were wearing school uniforms.

"...huh" she muttered, as she stared at the picture "I didn't know that Momiji was in a co-ed school." She thought aloud. She knew that all of the children born in the jyunishi were supposed to go to an all-boys or an all-girls school so that having their secret found out would be nearly impossible.

She let her gaze roam around the faces and she blinked as she recognized a few faces. She saw Tohru, who was smiling brightly; standing in the middle, beside her was a boy with orange hair. She remembered seeing him visiting Momiji a couple of times too... Kyo, was it? The boy with the black and white hair, Haru, was there too. There were more faces she didn't recognize, but seeing how close to them Momiji was in the picture showed that they were friends.

She gently placed the frame back on the desk as she then turned to the bookshelf that stood beside it. She let her fingers brush across the books, some thick, some thin; others hard bound while the rest were paperback. She slowly eyed the books, taking her time to read the titles, pulling one out whenever the title piqued her interest.

What she was doing right now; going back to her old house and do nothing but look around. It must look strange. When she first told Mizuki that she wanted to go to the main house, he thought that she would go and visit Momiji. He was puzzled when she told him that what she wanted to visit wasn't Momiji, but rather, their old house. When she got the same reaction, it was then that she told him her intention.

When her memories returned to her, she had been confused about what she felt about Momiji. The sudden return of her memories brought back all of the thoughts and feelings she had from that time back, together with her feelings for Momiji now and it caused her to be confused about what she actually felt.

That's why she asked Mizuki to give her some time to herself; so that she could clear her mind and think about the situation properly; especially about how she felt about Momiji.

Mizuki had agreed and gave her more time to herself, but after all the thinking she had done, all of the consideration she had thought about Momiji and her family, she still hadn't found her answer. She didn't feel confused anymore, however, she felt conflicted. At what, she didn't know. But as she was thinking of the reason why,the thought that she didn't know much about Momiji surprised her. Thinking back on it, she realized that she knew almost nothing about Momij; even from back then. She had been too obsessed with avoiding her son that she never had the chance to know anything about him.

It was actually only during the time she spent with him in the hospital did she finally found out more about him and after finding out the truth about Momiji, she suddenly felt the need to know more about her son.

That was her purpose for coming here. She wanted to know more about Momiji. She wanted to see for herself the place where her son grew up, how he lived, what he likes, dislikes, anything and everything she could find out about him. Even if going back to this house would mean bringing back a few bitter memories, she'd bear it.

She wanted to know her son.

She hoped that in doing so, she would find her answer.

She was leisurely gazing at the books once more when a book on the farthest side of the middle shelf caught her eye. Curious, she pulled it out.

She quickly brought her other hand to hold the book as well after pulling it out since it was rather large, around the same size as a scrap book, and was about an inch thick. It had a blue cover with nothing written on it. Pulling out the round chair in front of the desk, she placed it on her lap as she curiously ran her hand on the smooth leather-like cover before flipping it open to see its content.

She blinked in surprise as the first thing she saw was a young Momiji, holding a yellow ball, smiling back at her. "A photo album." She muttered to herself as she continued to flip through the next few of pages. Most of the pictures were of Momiji when he was younger, playing alone or with other kids, laughing or just seemingly smiling at the camera. There were also pictures of Mizuki; a few together with Momiji, others and just on his own.

It didn't miss her attention though, when she noticed that there weren't any pictures where she was in it, nor was she surprised. She was never really the type to keep a large amount of photos; that was more of Mizuki, not her. Also, in the state she was in back then, no one could persuade her to take a picture, not even Mizuki. The one time that he did succeed was when Mizuki persuaded her to have a family picture.

She smiled wryly as she thought how ironic it was that the exact picture she vehemently refused to be taken was the one that triggered on the return of her memories.

Shaking her head, she continued to turn a few more pages as she looked at the pictures. Curiosity and fascination in her eyes as each turn of a page would show a slightly older Momiji.

She stopped when she saw a picture of Momiji , looking a little bit older, wearing a school uniform. A black and white haired kid – Haru, she noted – stood beside him as they stood by the school gate.

"So Momiji did go to an all-boy school." She said to herself recognizing the name on the gate of the school. Most of the pictures that followed after that must've been taken by Momiji since the next few pictures she saw were of children she didn't know – most likely his classmates - with his or Haru's face popping out every couple of picture or so.

There were also pictures of, what she guessed were, the other members of the Sohma family, and probably the other jyuunishi, as she saw a few pictures of Hatori, Haru, a girl with shoulder-length hair and a boy with short, spiky brown hair and the occasional pictures of Mizuki.

Halfway into the album, she began to see pictures of Momiji's friend, Tohru, as well as Kyo, that orange-haired boy that was always came to pick her up. She once again turned the page but stopped short as a small laugh escaped her lips. In the picture, Momiji was standing beside Tohru and both of them were smiling brightly at the camera. The picture itself wasn't that unusual, but she was a bit surprised when she saw Momiji wearing his own version of the female uniform.

Honestly, she had realized that Momiji liked wearing feminine clothes, but even the school uniform...

Taking another glance at the picture, she let another giggle escape her lips before continuing on to looking at the other pictures. Most of the pictures seemed to have been taken during school festivals and events taking place at the school and holidays. She recognized a few faces in the pictures as well from the picture placed on Momiji's desk.

Another breeze passed by outside as a few fallen leaves were taken away and trees slowly swayed along, casting weird shadows inside the house. Maiko, however, didn't pay any attention to it as she continued to turn the pages of the photo album, smiling at certain pictures, admiring some and laughing a little as she saw a few more pictures of Momiji wearing the same uniform as Tohru.

She continued on turning the pages, looking at each and every picture it brought along. Someone once told her that every picture had its own story behind it and that sometimes, it's up to the person looking at the picture whether they would see it or not.

Back then, she understood what it meant, but she never gave it much thought. Now, though, as she looked at each picture, she could definitely agree to those words as with each picture she would see a story; a side of Momiji she never knew, a short moment in his life.

The smile on her face turned wistful as she thought back on the pictures. A happy day in the park, a good laugh with friends, an enjoyable afternoon at the beach; these pictures showed the moments in his life that Momiji held dear. And as she slowly continued on looking at the pictures, it felt like even though she had never seen Momiji grow up she was learning more about the son she chose to forget.

She turned another page and her gaze softened as she saw a picture of Momiji, leaning against the drawer in his room, playing the violin with his eyes closed, a gentle smile on his face. She gently ran a hand on the picture. It was an ordinary picture, nothing out of the ordinary, like the rest. But as soon as she saw Momiji's expression, looking so happy; so _content_, at that moment that she couldn't help but feel relieved.

Living life remembering nothing but a hysterical, broken mother who chose to forget him, forced to live away from his father who could visit him for very short amounts of time, having a sister who didn't know he existed, she couldn't imagine what kind of life it was for Momiji to live like. Remembering how she had treated him back then, she had never once seen him smile because of her, she never heard him laugh.

Choosing a life without her son, she never thought about how it would have affected him. She had been plagued by questions after she regained her memories. Was he devastated? Hurt? Scared? Broken? She didn't know. She honestly didn't know. That's when she realized that she hardly knew anything about Momiji despite having encountered him a few times before. That was one of the reasons why she came back to the house. So that she could see, with her own eyes, where her child grew up; how he grew up.

Seeing the pictures, it relieved her that despite her decision, that despite the fact that she abandoned her son, Momiji was still able to live his life with a smile on his face and a laugh here and there. There may have been tears behind those smiles or sad moments that were never captured by the camera, but knowing that Momiji was strong enough to still be able to smile was enough to lighten up the guilt she felt.

She blinked; momentarily breaking her train of thought as she once again looked around the room. Deciding that she'd seen enough, she lightly turned the album close as she stood up. However, sitting for a long while, she forgot how heavy the album was and upon standing, the album slipped her fingers and when she realized it, it was too late. The album had fallen to the floor with a loud thud, the force making it bounce lightly as it opened, pages facing the floor.

Inwardly berating herself, she kneeled down on the floor and carefully picked it up, holding the spine; hoping that none of the pages were accidentally folded. She was surprised, however, as a small envelope suddenly fell from the album as soon as she picked it up. The impact of the fall wasn't that hard, but it was enough to force its contents to spill out of the envelope and fall onto the floor.

Her eyes slightly widened as she saw the envelope fall, but not because of the fact that there was an envelope hidden inside the album. Rather, it was because of the contents of the envelope that surprised her. There on the floor, slightly scattered because of the fall, were pictures of herself and Momo.

Slowly placing the album on the floor beside her she carefully picked up one of the pictures and inspected it. It was a picture of herself, seemingly busy watching Momo play in the park, a serene smile on her face. Looking at the other pictures, she realized that the pictures were of her and Momo, although most of it was hers.

She tried to remember all of the times she went out with Momo and not once did she remember ever noticing someone taking a picture of her. Looking once again at the pictures, she presumed that they must've been taken from a distance, some probably even farther as she inspected the pictures for a moment more, noticing that some of the pictures weren't as clear as the others, just like how it would look like after having zoomed the camera too much.

She then noticed the envelope where the pictures were contained in. A small scribble was written on the lower-right corner and she couldn't help but feel her chest tightened as she read the word.

"Mutti"

She read aloud, her native German accent evident as the word flowed from her lips when she read the word written in neat cursive. "Mother" she muttered, translating the word.

"_We__ don't see each other anymore."_

"Momiji..." she uttered quietly as she placed the picture she held back into the small pile on the floor. She suddenly remembered the conversation she had with him back at the hospital and the relief she had felt earlier. She suddenly felt the urge to slap herself.

_Naive_

It was naive of her to think that somehow Momiji had been able to live just fine without her all these years. Seeing him smiling and laughing back in those pictures, she had felt relief in the idea that Momiji was somehow able to still live happily, relieved that she didn't have to feel so guilty for driving him to live such a life, at least, not anymore.

But she was wrong. She had seen it; the loneliness in Momiji's eyes as she insensitively asked him about her back at the hospital. How she could see the longing he had for her, how it must've hurt to make him talk about such things; to recall such painful things.

"_She never looked that happy back when she was still living with us."_

From the moment she heard those words she knew that despite the bubbly, cheerful exterior Momiji always seemed to have,was never truly happy living life the way he did; that no matter how much he tried, he wouldn't be able to genuinely smile and say he was happy because there was a large part in his life that was missing; a part which she had taken away for her own selfishness. She took away from him the love that only a mother would be able to give her son. Even back then, she was aware that the reason why Momiji kept coming back to her was because she kept pushing him away, she was rejecting him. Momiji only wanted her to love him, but she never noticed because she was too absorbed in the thought of the curse, of her own despair and suffering.

"_That's why I don't show myself to her."_

She had been too blinded by her own self-centeredness that she had never bothered to stop and think about what she was doing to Momiji. By pushing him away, she had denied him the only thing she could give; her love.

"_Weren't you lonely? Watching your mother live happily away from you?"_

She brought a hand over her mouth as she felt her breath hitch. She felt so bad, so guilty, so _insensitive_ at asking such questions back then just to satisfy her curiosity and find answers to the question brought by Momiji's pendant. Even when she had already forgotten about Momiji, during those short moments she would accidentally meet him, she remembered how she would carelessly comment or ask about his parents, sometimes even berating him when she would see him in Mizuki's office, saying that his parents would worry. She had never tried to look past the smiles Momiji gave her, she never tried to see. For her, those moments were simply random and coincidental, nothing more. Thinking about it now, Momiji probably treasured those short moments meeting her because those were the only moments he could be with her.

"_Seeing her happy is enough."_

"Cruel..." her voice came in gasps as tears slowly formed at the corner of her eyes before cascading down her face. "...so cruel" she continued to mutter as she brought her hands on her face. Knowing that he would be pushed away, yet still wanting to see her, yearning her love, even if it meant having to watch from afar knowing that he can never be a part of that happiness... it was just too cruel.

"_Because I love her."_

She bent over, her sobs resounded against the walls of the quiet room. The four words rang out in her head as the memory of Momiji saying those words flashed in her mind. Despite all the pain that she had caused him, all of her efforts in pushing him away, Momiji still loved her. _He still loved her._

He loved her and cared so much that he was even willing to run after the snatcher that took her purse that afternoon; that he didn't care if he was risking his own safety. He even lost his own sight doing so and not once has she heard him put the blame on anyone, especially not her.

She stayed like that for some time, sitting on the floor, back slightly bent and hand on her face, as her tears continued to fall. Another breeze passed as the trees outside swayed, casting weird shadows inside the house once more. She didn't know how much time had passed ever since she had come into the house, and it was only when she heard quiet footsteps heading towards her did she lift her head, the view of the garden outside greeting her eyes.

The footsteps stopped somewhere behind her, but even then she didn't move. She was still too caught up in her thoughts to bother to look at the figure behind her. It was only when the figure spoke that she seemed to break her train of thought.

"Maiko"

The figure quietly spoke, calling and at the same time seemed to be inquiring something from her. She didn't speak for a moment longer, not trusting her voice from all the crying she had done. Instead, she brought her hand to her face and wiped the tears away as she tried to compose herself.

"Maiko"

The figure spoke again, the same tone of voice was used, but this time it was slightly tinged with worry. "I've been thinking for a long time," She said, her voice a little hoarse from crying. "sometimes even doubting myself about what I should do but I shouldn't have." she paused, her gaze going back to the photo album that sat beside her "The answer I've been looking for was in front of me the whole time." she gently ran her hand on the smooth cover "I just never really looked at it." She turned to the figure behind her and their eyes met.

"I've finally found my answer."

Finally, she'd finally found it. And now, she can finally talk to Momiji.

She can finally talk to her son. 

* * *

Author's Notes:

I am finally finished with this chapter! I have two things to say about this chapter. First is that this is now the longest chapter I have ever written (14 pages) it's even longer than the last term paper I have written lol Second is that this is the chapter I had struggled the most in writing. The heat aside, I kept on stopping whenever I came to the parts where Maiko had to shift from thoughts to actions. I'm not sure if the flow of this chapter is as good as the others, but I really wanted to keep the flow like that in a manga where the character would bee seen moving around despite being lost in thought or something along those lines. And I would struggle because everytime I would continue from where I left of, I would realize that what I was writing was a bit off from the one I continued rfom and then I'd have to start over again -sigh-

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is my own version of how Maiko 'broke' according to Momiji in the chapter where he told Tohru about her. And as usual, since I don't think I'd be getting a beta for a long time, if there are any grammatical error, or any error for that matter, found in this chapter please tell me. And review! So that I'd know what you think of the story!


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